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THE    IMMIGRANT    PRESS 
AND    ITS    CONTROL 


A mericaniza tion  Studies 


Schooling  of  the  Iiimigrant. 

Frank  V.  Thompson,  Supt.  of  Public  Schools,  Boston 
Amekica  via  the  Neighborhood. 

John  Daniels 
Old  World  Traits  Tr.\nsplanted. 

Robert  E.  Park,  Professorial  Lecturer,  University  of  Chicago 

Herbert  A.  Miller,  Professor  of  Sociology,  Oberlin  College 
A  Stake  in  the  Land. 

Peter  A.  Speek,  in  charge,  Slavic  Section,  Library  of  Congress 
Immigrant  Health  and  the  Community. 

Michael  M.  Davis,  Jr.,  Director,  Boston  Dispensary 
New  Homes  for  Old. 

Sophonisba  P.  Breckinridge,  Professor  of  Social  Economy, 
University  of  Chicago 
Adjusting  Liimigrant  and  Industry.     (In  preparation) 

William  M.  Leiserson,  Chairman,  Labor  Adjustment  Board, 

New  York 
The  Iidiigrant  Press  and  Its  Control. 

Robert  E.  Park,  Professorial  Lecturer,  University  of  Chicago 
The  Immigrant's  Day  in  Court.     (In  preparation) 

Kate   Holladay   Claghorn,    Instructor   in   Social   Research, 

New  York  School  of  Social  Work 
Americans  by  Choice.     (In  preparation) 

John  P.  Gavit,  Vice-President,  New  York  Evening  Post 
Summary.     (In  preparation) 

Allen  T.  Bums,  Director,  Studies  in  Methods  of  American- 
ization 

Harper  &'  Brothers  Publishers 


> 


AMERICANIZATION  STUDIES 
ALLEN  T.  BURNS.  DIRECTOR 

THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 
AND  ITS  CONTROL 

BY 

ROBERT  E.  PARK 

PROFESSORIAI.   LECTVTIER 
UNIVERSITY    OF   CHICAGO 


HARPER  &  BROTHERS  PUBLISHERS 

NEW    YORK    AND    LONDON 
1922 


The  Immigrant  Press  and  its  Control 


Copyright,  1922,  by  Harper  &  Brothers 
Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 

A-W 


Demote  -- 


0  '~^'-  '^ 


^ 


PUBLISHER'S  NOTE 


The  material  in  this  volume  was  gathered  by  the 
Division  of  the  Immigrant  Press  of  Studies  of 
Methods  of  Americanization. 

Americanization  in  this  study  has  been  con- 
sidered as  the  union  of  native  and  foreign  born 
in  all  the  most  fundamental  relationships  and 
activities  of  our  national  life.  For  Americaniza- 
tion is  the  uniting  of  new  with  native-born 
Americans  in  fuller  common  understanding  and 
appreciation  to  secure  by  means  of  self-govern- 
ment the  highest  welfare  of  all.  Such  American- 
ization should  perpetuate  no  unchangeable  po- 
litical, domestic,  and  economic  regime  delivered 
once  for  all  to  the  fathers,  but  a  growing  and 
broadening  national  life,  inclusive  of  the  best 
wherever  found.  With  all  our  rich  heritages, 
Americanism  will  develop  best  through  a  mutual 
giving  and  taking  of  contributions  from  both 
newer  and  older  Americans  in  the  interest  of  the 
common  weal.  This  study  has  followed  such  an 
understanding  of  Americanization. 


496903 


FOREWORD 

This  volume  is  the  result  of  studies  in  methods 
of  Americanization  prepared  through  funds  fur- 
nished by  the  Carnegie  Corporation  of  New  York. 
It  arose  out  of  the  fact  that  constant  applications 
were  being  made  to  the  Corporation  for  contribu- 
tions to  the  work  of  numerous  agencies  engaged 
in  various  forms  of  social  activity  intended  to 
extend  among  the  people  of  the  United  States 
the  knowledge  of  their  government  and  the 
obligations  to  it.  The  trustees  felt  that  a  study i 
which  should  set  forth,  not  theories  of  social 
betterment,  but  a  description  of  the  methods  of 
the  various  agencies  engaged  in  such  work,  would 
be  of  distinct  value  to  the  cause  itself  and  to  the 
public. 

The  outcome  of  the  study  is  contained  in  eleven 
volumes  on  the  following  subjects:  Schooling  of 
the  Immigrant;  The  Press;  Adjustment  of 
Homes  and  Family  Life;  Legal  Protection  and 
Correction;  Health  Standards  and  Care;  Natu- 
ralization and  Political  Life;  Industrial  and  Eco- 
nomic Amalgamation;  Treatment  of  Immigrant 
Heritages;  Neighborhood  Agencies  and  Organi- 
zation; Rural  Developments;  and  Summary. 
The  entire  study  has  been  carried  out  under  the 

vii 


FOREWORD 

general  direction  of  IVIr.  Allen  T.  Burns.  Each 
volume  appears  in  the  name  of  the  author  who 
had  immediate  charge  of  the  particular  field  it 
is  intended  to  cover. 

Upon  the  invitation  of  the  Carnegie  Corpora- 
tion a  committee  consisting  of  the  late  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  Prof.  John  Graham  Brooks,  Dr.  John 
M.  Glenn,  and  Mr.  John  A.  VoU  has  acted  in 
an  advisory  capacity  to  the  director.  An  edi- 
torial committee  consisting  of  Dr.  Talcott  Will- 
iams, Dr.  Raymond  B.  Fosdick,  and  Dr.  Edwin 
F.  Gay  has  read  and  criticized  the  manuscripts. 
To  both  of  these  committees  the  trustees  of  the 
Carnegie  Corporation  are  much  indebted. 

The  purpose  of  the  report  is  to  give  as  clear 
a  notion  as  possible  of  the  methods  of  the  agen- 
cies actually  at  work  in  this  field  and  not  to 
propose  theories  for  dealing  with  the  complicated 
questions  involved. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Publisher's  Note 

PAGE 
V 

Foreword 

vii 

Table  of  Contents 

ix 

List  of  Diagrams 

XV 

List  of  Maps 

xvi 

List  of  Tables 

xvii 

Introduction 

xix 

PART 

I 

SOIL  FOR 

THE 

IMMIGRANT 

PRESS 

CHAPTER 

I.  Why  There  Is  a  Foreign-language  Press  3 

Human  Association  Based  on  Language  5 

Magnitude  of  the  Immigrant  Press  6 

Popularity  Based  on  Sentiment  and  Need  9 

n.  EtJROPEAN  Backgrounds  op  the  Immigr.vnt 

Press  14 

Intellectual  Development  and  the  Reading 

Habit  14 
Divergence  of  Written  and  Spoken  Language  15 
Natural  Development  of  Language  Differ- 
ences 18 
Cleavage  Perpetuated  by  Suppressions  25 
Loss  of  Racial  Iflentity  26 
Literacy  Prevented  28 
Linguistic  Revivals  33 
Language  Identified  with  Nationality  40 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

in.  The  Immigrant  Press  and  Assimil.ition  49 

Nationalism  Natural  Among  Immigrants  49 

Efforts  to  Prevent  Assimilation  50 

Aims  of  Nationalism  59 

Popularization  of  the  Immigrant  Press  67 

Language  and  Culture  Modified  79 

IV.  Enlightenment  Through  the  Press  89 

Factors  in  Success  90 

History  of  the  Yiddish  Press  95 

Education  of  the  Reading  Public  105 

Intellectual  Ferment  108 


PART   II 

CONTENTS   OF  THE   FOREIGN-LANGUAGE   PRESS 

V.  Advertising  113 

Immigrant  Business  114 

Professional  Advertisements  121 

Books  123 

Immigrant  Organizations  127 

American  Advertisements  132 

VI.  The  Provincial  Press  135 

Heimweh  and  the  Backward  View  137 

The  Stern  Religion  of  the  Fathers  140 

The  Secluded  Life  144 

Vn.  The  CosMOPOiiiTAN  Press  150 

The  Japanese  Press  150 

Japanese  Heritages  155 

The  Restlessness  of  Immigrants  159 

The  New  Race  Consciousness  160 

The  Yiddish  Press  166 
The  Old  Religion  and  the  New  Nationalism        166 

Conflicts  169 

Life  on  the  Lower  East  Side  174 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Vni.  The  Cosmopolitan  Press  and  the  War  193 

Old  Hatreds  196 

The  New  Nations  197 

The  Rush  to  Europe  199 

Mailed  Fist  of  Austria-Hungary  in  America  200 

Influencing  the  Home  Country  202 

The  Factions  Behind  the  Solid  Front  202 

Editorial  Vicissitudes  207 

Americanization :  Outside  and  Inside  210 

IX.  The  Class  War  214 

Indictment  of  Capitalism  214 

Indictment  of  America  219 

Sufferings  of  the  Proletariat  226 

The  Red  Movement  229 

Prophecies  232 

Racial  Traits  in  Radicalism  238 

Furor  Teuton icus  239 

Russian  and  Finnish  Reds  241 

The  Latin  Temperament  ^  245 

PART  in 

NATURAL   fflSTORY   OF  THE   IMMIGRANT   PRESS 

X.  Press  Established  BY  THE  Early  Immigrants  251 
Religious  Press  of  the  Seventeenth  and  Eight- 
eenth Centuries  252 
Early  German  Papers  253 
The  Scandinavian  Press  256 
The  French  Press  260 
Immigration  in  the  Early  Nineteenth  Century  261 
The  Bohemian  Press  262 
Establishment  of  the  German  Dailies  265 
Outgrowing  Radicalism  268 

XI.  The  Later  iMjncRANT  Press  269 

Nationalism  271 

Industrial  Radicalism  274 

The  Atmosphere  of  Immigrant  Journalism  277 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

xn. 


XIV. 


The  Phess  Reflects  Its  Group 

PAGE 

287 

Process  of  Settlement 

292 

Statistical  Sources 

295 

Urban  and  Rural  Publications 

297 

Frequency  of  Issue 

301 

Types  of  Publication 

304 

Interest  of  the  Readers 

307 

The  Struggle  for  Existence 

309 

Fluctuation  of  Immigrant  Press 

309 

Racial  Variations 

312 

The  Factor  of  Immigration 

314 

The  German  Press 

318 

Scandinavian  Press 

320 

Life  History  of  the  Norwegian  Pi"ess 

320 

Spanish  Press 

324 

Italian  and  Polish  Press 

324 

Bohemian  Press 

325 

The  French  Press 

325 

The  Hebrew  and  Yiddish  Press 

326 

Dependence  on  Immigration 

326 

The  Survival  of  the  Fittest 

328 

Organs 

830 

Journals  of  Opinion 

331 

The  Commercial  Press 

337 

Origins 

337 

Successful  Types 

339 

Opportunistic  Policy 

346 

Approach  to  Amerira,n  Type 

852 

PART  IV 

CONTROL   OF   THE   PRESS 

XV.  The  Levers  of  Control  859 

Revenue  the  Keynote  360 

Subsidized  and  Mendicant  Journals  360 

Balance  of  Power  Shifts  to  Advertising  363 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Relative  Control  of  Subscribers  and  Adver- 
tisers 365 
Local  Advertising  Unorganized  367 
Potential  Power  of  National  Advertising  369 

XVI.  The  INIanipulations  of  IIamiierliisg  377 

Testimony  of  Mr.  Louis  N.  Hammerling  378 

Party  Politics  382 

The  Anti-prohibition  Campaign  384 

German  Propaganda  390 

Hammerling's  Power  391 

The  Association  at  Work  393 

Testimony  of  Mr.  Arthur  Gabriel  393 

Hammerling  Himself  405 

XVn.  Enemy  Propaganda  and  Government  Inter- 
vention 412 
Foundations  in  Immigrants'  Loyalty  413 
The  Course  of  Enemy  Propaganda  421 
Dissensions  Among  Racial  Groups  427 
Control  Through  the  Post  Office  434 
Post-Office  Procedure  439 
Successful  Control  442 
The  Committee  on  Public  Information  444 

XMH.  Control  Through  Alliance  448 

Inadequate  Methods  448 

Use  of  the  Immigrant  Press  449 

An  Attempt  at  Benevolent  Control  451 

News  and  Information  Service  458 

Defects  in  the  Alliance  463 

Index  469 


LIST  OF  MAPS 

MAP  PAGE 

I.  Places  of  Publication  of  Principal  "Settler"  and 

"Colonist"  Press  in  the  United  States,  1920  288 

n.  Places  of  Publication  of  the  "Migrant  Industrial" 

Press  in  the  United  States,  1920  291 


LIST  OF  TABLES 


PAGE 


I.  Magazines  Having  Over  1,000,000  Circulation      17 

II.  Aggregate  Circulation  of   Daily  Newspapers, 

1904,  1909,  1914  17 

ITT.  Circulation  of  Largest  Foreign-language  Papers       92 

IV.  Date  of  Origin  of  Oldest  Existing  Foreign-lan- 
guage Daily  in  Each  Language  Group  252 

V.  Dates  of  Origin  of  Big  German  Dailies  266 

VI.  Dates  of  Origin  of  the  Radical  Foreign-language 

Press  276 

VII.  Places  of  Publication  of  the  Foreign-language 

Press  297 

Vni.  Places   of   Publication   of   the   "Settler"   and 

"Colonist"  Press  298 

IX.  Per  Cent  of  Foreign-bom  Population  Which 

Is  Rural  299 

X.  Places  of  Publication  of  the  "Migrants"  Press     300 

XL  Proportion  of  Dailies  to  Other  Periodicals  of 

Certain  Recent  Immigrant  Groups  SOI 

Xn.  Proportion  of  Dailies  to  Other  Periodicals  of 

Earlier  Agrarian  Groups  302 

Xm.  Proportion  of  Dailies  to  Other  Periodicals  of 

the  "Migrant  Industrial"  Group  303 

XIV.  Circulation  of  Types  of  Foreign-language  Jour- 
nals for  Certain  Immigrant  Groups  304 

XV.  Annual  Birth  Rate  and  Death  Rate  of  the 

Foreign-language  Publications,  1885-1920         310 
rvii 


LIST  OF  TABLES 

TABLE  PAGE 

XVI.  Net  Increase,  Number,  and  Ratio  of  Principal 
Foreign-language  Publications  Started  and 
Stopped,  by  Language,  1884-1920  313 

XVn.  Comparison  of  Immigration  with  Immigrant 

Papers,  1901-1920  317 

X\T!n.  Number  of  Papers  in  Foreign  Languages  in  the 

United  States  for  Each  Year,  1884-1920  facing,  318 

XIX.  Papers    Having    High    Per    Cent    of   Patent 

Medicine  "Ads."  372 

XX.  Number  of  Radical  Publications  in  Foreign 

Languages  436 


INTRODUCTION 

This  book  may  be  regarded  as  a  sequel  to  the  volume 
Old  World  Traits  Transplanted.  That  was,  substan- 
tially, a  study  of  Iiuinigrant  Communities  and  the  cul- 
tural institutions  which  immigrant  peoples  have  created 
in  this  country.  This  is  a  more  detailed  investigation 
of  a  single  institution — the  Immigrant  Press.  The 
volumes  supplement  one  another. 

The  immigrant  press  is  interesting  from  many  points 
of  view,  but  mainly  from  the  light  which  its  history 
and  its  contents  throw  upon  the  inner  life  of  immigrant 
peoples  and  their  efforts  to  adjust  themselves  to  a  new 
cultural  environment.  In  order  to  make  this  study  a 
faithful  reflection  of  this  life,  it  has  been  necessary  to 
collect  materials  from  a  multitude  of  obscure  sources, 
and  over  a  wide  area  of  human  life.  It  is  inevitable 
that  mistakes  of  judgment  as  well  as  of  fact  should  be 
made  in  selecting  and  interpreting  this  material.  How- 
ever inadequate  the  picture  presented  may  turn  out  to 
be,  it  could  not  be  as  complete  and  as  accurate  as  it 
is  if  the  author  had  not  had,  in  its  preparation,  the  good 
will  and  assistance  of  more  persons  than  it  is  possible 
to  name. 

The  editors  of  this  volume  are  indebted  to  William 
H.  Lamar,  solicitor  of  the  Post  Office  Department,  for 
permission  to  consult  the  files  of  foreign-language  papers 
in  the  Post  Office  Department,  to  the  Foreign  Language 
Information  Service,  to  the  American  Association  of 
Foreign  Language  Newspapers,  and  N.  W.  Ayer  &  Son 
or  information  in  regard  to  foreign-language  pub- 
lications. 


INTRODUCTION 

This  volume  is  indebted  to  A.  S.  Freidus,  chief  of  the 
Jewish  Division  of  the  New  York  Public  Library,  to 
Abraham  Cahan,  editor  of  the  Forward,  to  Peter  Wier- 
nik,  editor  of  the  Jewish  Morning  Journal,  and  to  Mark 
Villchur,  editor  of  the  Russkoye  Slovo  for  information 
in  regard  to  the  Jewish  press;  and  to  Shiko  Kusama, 
of  the  Japanese  Association  of  California,  for  facts  in 
regard  to  the  Japanese  press. 

But  this  volume  is  particularly  indebted  to  Winifred 
Rauschenbusch,  whose  assistance  in  the  preparation  of 
it  has  been  invaluable. 

Robert  E.  Park. 

University  of  Chicago, 
October  11, 1921. 


I 


THE    IMMIGRANT    PRESS 
AND    ITS    CONTROL 

Part  I 
SOIL  FOR  THE  IM^IIGRANT  PRESS 


THE    IMMIGRANT    PRESS 
AND    ITS   CONTROL 


WHY  THERE  IS  A  FOREIGN-LANGUAGE   PRESS 

There  were,  in  the  year  1919,  forty-three  or  forty-foiu 
languages  and  dialects  spoken  by  the  immigrant  peo- 
ples of  the  United  States.  It  is  not  easy  to  make  exact 
distinction,  because  there  are  certain  forms  of  speech 
like  the  Ladin  and  Romansh,  spoken  in  the  Italian  Alps, 
which  may  be  regarded  either  as  dialects  or  as  separate 
languages.  Actually,  the  Ladin  and  Romansh  repre- 
sent forms  of  the  ancient  Latin,  less  modified  than 
Italian.  The  Romansh,  moreover,  unlike  the  Ladin,  is 
still  a  hterary  language,  and  in  the  canton  of  Grisons  is 
ofBcially  recognized,  together  with  German  and  Italian. 
There  are  other  languages,  like  the  Hebrew,  which  has 
been  a  dead  language  for  more  than  two  thousand  years, 
although  it  still  is  spoken  by  Jewish  Talmud  scholars, 
has  an  extensive  modern  literature,  and  just  now,  under 
the  influence  of  the  Zionist  movement,  is  undergoing  a 
revival  both  in  America  and  Europe. 

Among  the  Jewish  j>eople  Hebrew  occupies  the  position 
that  Latin  did  among  the  peoples  of  Europe  during  the  Middle 
Ages.    It  is  the  language  of  religion  and  of  learning.    Every 

3 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Jewish  boy  is  expected  to  know  Hebrew,  enough,  at  least,  to 
read  his  prayers.  It  is  the  Utcrary  language  of  the  Jewish 
race  and  the  medium  of  commimication  among  scholars.  All 
of  them  read  it;  many  of  them  speak  it.  It  is  proposed  to 
make  it  the  language  of  the  Jewish  people  of  Palestine  when 
that  homeland  of  the  race  has  been  redeemed. ' 

The  Jewish  Encyclopedia  of  1905  reports  that  of  1,059 
Jewish  periodicals  published  in  all  languages  and  coun- 
tries, 199  were  in  Hebrew. 

Among  the  minor  language  groups  in  America  are 
representatives  of  the  forgotten  peoples  of  Europe,  such 
as  the  Russo-Carpathians  living  on  the  borders  of 
southern  Czechoslovakia,  the  Catalonian  rebels  of 
eastern  Spain,  and  the  Wends. 

Another  fact  that  makes  the  definition  and  enumera- 
tion of  languages  and  dialects  difficult  is  the  existence 
in  Europe  of  what  may  be  designated  as  twilight  zones, 
where  dialects  and  languages  shade  off  imperceptibly 
into  one  another.  These  regions  are  usually  areas  open 
to  interracial  intercourse  and  communication.  Where 
the  speech  of  the  common  people  is  not  reenforced  by 
education  in  the  schools,  and  is  not  the  language  of  the 
Church  or  of  the  press,  language  breaks  down  into  local 
dialects;  differences  of  speech  are  washed  out  and 
eventually  disappear. 

The  peasants  themselves  [in  the  Ukraine]  understand  one 
another  without  difficulty,  though  their  dialects  vary  much 
from  one  another,  shading  off  at  places  into  Polish,  at  places 
into  Slovak,  at  places  into  Russian.  A  gramophone  record  of 
a  folk  tale,  taken  in  the  region  of  the  Kuban  Cossacks  on  the 
shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  is  said  to  be  perfectly  intelligible  in 
the  vicinity  of  Przemysl,  But,  though  the  peasants  know 
that  their  language  is  different  from  Great  Russian,  and 
though  a  Great  Russian  is  treated  as  a  stranger  in  their  vil- 
lage, it  may  be  doubted  whether  their  political  consciousness 

^  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  vol.  is. 

4 


WHY  THERE  IS  A  FOREIGN-LANGUAGE  PRESS 

has  gone  much  beyond  this  point.  When  questioned  as  to 
their  nationaHty,  they  are  apt,  unless  they  have  been  other- 
wise instructed  by  the  intelligentsia,  to  reply,  incontinently, 
"Orthodox."  i 


HUMAN  ASSOCIATION   BASED   ON   LANGUAGE 

The  thing  which  makes  these  distinctions  of  dialect  anoV 
speech  important  is  the  fact  that  mother  tongue  is  the) 
natural  basis  of  human  association  and  organizatiorj/ 
The  World  War,  which  filled  Europe  with  the  clamor  of 
insurgent  nationalities,  has  made  it  evident  that  the  old 
political  boundaries  did  not  include  homogeneous  popu- 
lations. On  the  other  hand,  the  war  has  revealed  the 
fact  that,  within  the  old  political  boundaries,  Europe 
was  organized  on  the  basis  of  languages,  and  of  the 
memories  and  traditions  which  these  languages  pre- 
served. It  is  significant,  also,  that  when  other  bonds 
broke,  language  and  tradition  held.  The  nationalities 
which  in  the  break-up  of  Europe  have  gained  their  in- 
dependence are  all  language  groups,  not  races. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  nationality  and  language  are  inde- 
pendent of  race,  and,  in  fact,  the  meaning  of  the  word  "race" 
as  used  not  only  by  the  man  in  the  street,  but  also  by  the 
historian,  is  based  on  the  spoken  language.  So  far  as  race  is 
concerned  in  its  scientific  sense,  there  exists  no  such  thing  as 
a  "Latin,"  a  "Celtic,"  a  "German,"  a  "Slavic,"  or  even  an 
"Aryan"  or  "Caucasian"  race.  These  are  linguistic  terms, 
and  are  not  correlated  to  bodily  characters.^ 

In  America,  as  in  Europe,  it  is  language  and  tradition\ 
rather  than  political  allegiance  that  unites  the  foreign  \ 
populations.    People  who  speak  the  same  language  find   ) 
it  convenient  to  live  together.  y 


»  Ralph  Butler,  The  New  Eastern  Europe,  1919,  pp.  133-134. 
*  Leon  Dominian,   The  Frontiers  of  Language  and  Nationality  in 
Europe,  New  York,  1917.    Introduction  by  Madison  Grant,  p.  xvi. 

5 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

There  is  always  a  more  or  less  strongly  marked  tendency 
among  aliens  speaking  a  foreign  language  to  congregate  in 
groups  in  the  coimtry  or  in  certain  wards  of  large  towns  and 
cities,  and  out  of  this  tendency  springs  a  sort  of  clannishness 
which  cannot  be  avoided,  and  which  is  not  peculiar  to  any 
class,  for  the  immigrants  naturally  follow  the  lines  of  least 
resistance.  They  go  to  those  whom  they  know,  to  those 
whose  speech  they  can  understand,  to  those  from  whose  ex- 
perience they  may  draw  large  drafts  of  suggestion  and  help. 
But  this  clarmislmess  with  the  Swedes,  Norwegians,  and 
Danes  has  been  but  a  stage  in  their  evolution  out  of  which, 
through  the  gates  of  the  English  language,  public  schools, 
naturalization,  and  increased  prosperity,  they  have  passed  to 
broader  relations.^ 

The  reciprocal  feeling  of  repulsion  shows  itself  especially  in 
the  tendency  of  different  nationalities  to  draw  apart.  The 
phenomenon  is  familiar  enough  in  the  tenement  districts,  but 
the  same  thing  occurs,  for  instance,  in  a  Texas  country  town, 
where  I  found  that  the  Germans  and  Bohemians,  who  were 
the  main  inhabitants,  seemed  to  mix  as  little  as  oil  and  water. 
Each  of  these  two  nationalities  had  its  own  separate  public 
school;  in  the  one,  named  Germania,  both  English  and  Ger- 
man were  taught;  in  the  Bohemian  school,  English  only, 
Bohemian  not  being  permitted  by  the  authorities  (county  or 
state,  I  do  not  know  which).  The  Americans  who  used  to 
live  in  the  place  had,  most  of  them,  moved  away.  There 
seemed  to  be  no  friction,  only  a  desire  not  to  mingle.  One 
constantly  runs  across  this  fact  that  the  old  settlers  tend  to 
withdraw  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  be  irked  by  a  foreign 
atmosphere.2 

MAGNITUDE   OF  THE   IMMIGRANT   PRESS 

Our  great  cities,  as  we  discover  upon  close  examination, 
are  mosaics  of  little  language  colonies,  cultural  enclaves, 

'  C.  H.  Babcock,  "The  Scandinavian  Element,  Religious  and  In- 
tellectual Standpoint,"  in  University  of  Illinois  Studies  in  the  Social 
Sciences,  1914,  p.  111. 

2  Emily  G.  Balch,  Our  Slavic  Fellow  Citizens,  1910,  p.  410. 

6 


WHY  THERE  IS  A  FOREIGN-LANGUAGE  PRESS 

each  maintaining  its  separate  communal  existence 
within  the  wider  circle  of  the  city's  cosmopolitan  life. 
Each  one  of  these  little  communities  is  certain  to  have 
some  sort  of  co-operative  or  mutual  aid  society,  very 
likely  a  church,  a  school,  possibly  a  theater,  but  almost 
invariably  a  press.  In  the  city  of  New  York,  at  any 
rate,  there  is,  so  far  as  can  be  learned,  no  language 
group  so  insignificant  that  it  does  not  maintain  a  print- 
ing press  and  publish  some  sort  of  periodical. 

The  Albanians,  Armenians,  Bulgarians,  Chinese,  Czechs, 
Croatians,  Danes,  Finns,  French,  Germans,  Greeks,  Italians, 
Japanese,  Jews,  Levantine  Jews,  Letts,  Lithuanians,  Magyars, 
Persians,  Poles,  Portuguese,  Rumanians,  Russians,  Serbs, 
Slovaks,  Slovenians,  Spanish,  the  Swabians  of  Germany,  the 
Swedes,  Swiss,  SjTians  of  New  York  City,  all  have  a  press. 
The  Hindu  and  Turkish  press  have  only  gone  out  of  existence 
since  the  war.  There  is  the  Hebrew  press,  which  represents 
a  class  rather  than  a  language  group.  There  are  also  language 
colonies  m  New  York  like  the  Assyrians,  Belgians,  Dutch, 
Esthonians,  Flemish,  Norwegians,  the  Spanish  of  Catalonia, 
Uhro-Russians,  Welsh,  and  Wends,  which  have  a  press  out- 
side the  city. 

Although  there  are  not  facts  to  justify  a  positive 
statement,  it  seems  probable  that  more  foreign-language 
newspapers  and  periodicals  are  published  and  read  in 
the  United  States,  in  proportion  to  the  foreign-bom V 
population,  than  are  published  in  the  home  countries  ] 
in  proportion  to  the  native  born.    This  is  certainly  true/ 
in  some  instances.    The  following  article  was  based  on 
data  received  from  readers  of  Russkoye  Slovo,  who  were 
asked  to  answer  a  questionnaire  published   in   that 
paper: 

Peasants  and  laborers  constitute  more  than  90  per  cent  of 
all  the  Russian  immigrants  in  the  United  States.    According 

7  ;/ 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

to  the  census  of  1910,  there  are  38.4  per  cent  illiterate  among 
the  Russians  above  fourteen  years  of  age.  But  even  those 
who  are  able  to  read  rarely  saw  newspapers  in  Russia,  and 
theaters  were  out  of  their  reach.  The  Russian  village  from 
which  the  majority  of  immigrants  came  had  no  press  and  no 
theater. 

Out  of  312  correspondents  only  16  have  regularly  read  news- 
papcrs  in  Russia;  10  others  used  from  time  to  time  to  read 
newspapers  in  the  volost,  the  village  admmistrative  center; 
12  were  subscribers  to  weekly  magazines. 

In  America  all  of  them  are  subscribers  or  readers  of  Russian 
newspapers.  Tiro  hundred  of  them  are  theatergoers,  and  all  are 
visiting  the  "movies." 

Twenty-five  per  cent  of  them  read  also  the  American 
newspapers  published  in  the  English  language.  But  some 
mention  the  fact  that  they  "understand  only  one  word 
out  of  five."  Others,  buying  an  American  daily,  just 
glance  over  the  headlines.  "These  are  easy  to  under- 
stand, and  you  know  all  the  news,"  WTites  one  of  the 
correspondents. 

The  question  whether  they  like  American  newspapers  or 
not  is  answered  negatively  by  the  majority  of  Russian  read- 
ers. Some  complain  that  the  newspapers  are  too  local  in  their 
character.  A  newspaper  in  some  city  like  Williinantic  is  90 
per  cent  a  local  paper,  and  to  it  the  affairs  of  Willimantic  are 
of  more  importance  than  the  all-American  and  the  world 
problems.  The  Russian  readers  are  used  to  seeing  even  in 
their  provincial  press  an  expression  of  the  world's  thought. 
.  .  .  Generally,  the  responses  to  the  questionnaire  paint  a 
picture  of  a  cultural  success  of  the  Russians  in  America. 
Immigrants  from  the  governments  of  Grodno,  Minsk,  and 
VoljTi  write  that  at  home  they  used  neicspapers  as  cigarette 
papers,  while  here  they  became  regular  readers  of  periodicals. 
An  interest  in  the  press  creates  an  interest  in  the  book,  in  the 
theater,  and  the  whole  outlook  of  the  Russian  in  America 
widens.  Not  only  his  own  interests,  the  interests  of  his  family 
and  of  his  circle,  become  near  and  dear  to  him,  but  also  the 

8 


VmY  THERE  IS  A  FOREIGN-LANGUAGE  PRESS 

problems  of  his  country,  of  the  republic  in  which  he  resides, 
and,  gradually,  of  the  whole  wide  world. ' 

POPULARITY   BASED   ON   SENTIMENT   AND   NEED 

The  popularity  of  the  foreign-language  press  is  due  to 
various  causes.  One  reason  why  immigrants  are  eager 
to  read  their  own  language  in  this  country  is  that  they  \^ 
have  not  been  permitted  to  do  so  in  their  own.  Some- 
times they  have  not  learned  to  read  before  they  come 
here;  have  not  been  permitted  to  do  so.  Sometimes 
the  journals  they  might  have  read  were  not  interesting 
or  not  intelligible.  Frequently  the  "oppressed  and  de- 
pendent" peoples  of  Europe  were  not  allowed  to  pub- 
lish journals  in  their  own  languages.  Immigrants  who 
have  struggled  for  the  right  to  print  and  read  their 
native  languages  at  home  are  bound  to  have  sentimen- 
tal views  in  regard  to  the  press  which  prints  their  lan- 
guage in  America. 

One  reason  why  immigrant  peoples  read  more  in 
America  than  they  do  at  home  is  because  there  is  more  ^ 
going  on  that  they  need  to  know.     There  is  more 
novelty  and  more  news. 

News  is  a  kind  of  urgent  information  that  men  use 
in  making  adjustments  to  a  new  environment,  in  chang- 
ing old  habits,  and  in  forming  new  opinions.  The  very 
helplessness  of  the  immigrant,  to  which  Miss  Emily 
Balch  refers  in  her  study  of  the  Slavic  immigrant  in 
America,  is  a  measure  of  the  novelty  of  the  American 
environment  and  the  immigrant's  lack  of  adjustment 
to  it. 

His  helplessness  makes  him  sought  for  as  prey  by  sharpers 
and  grafters;  it  is  all  that  the  immigration  officials  can  do 
to  keep  them  off  as  he  lands.    As  soon  as  he  leaves  the  pater- 

1  Mark  \'illchur,  article  in  the  Russkoye  Slovo,  New  York  City, 
June  10,  1919. 

9 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

nal  care  of  Ellis  Island  they  attack  in  force.  Boarding-house 
runners,  shady  employment  agents,  sellers  of  shoddy  wares, 
extortionate  hack  drivers,  and  expressmen  beset  his  way. 
One  hears  all  sorts  of  stories  of  abuses  from  both  Americans 
and  Slavs — of  bosses  who  take  bribes  to  give  employment  or 
to  assign  good  chambers  in  the  mine,  of  ill  usage  at  the  hands 
of  those  who  should  be  officers  of  justice,  of  arrests  for  the 
sake  of  fees,  of  unjust  fines,  of  excessive  costs  paid  rather 
than  incur  a  greater  expense.  The  litigiousness  of  the  Slavs 
is  exploited  by  "shyster"  lawyers  till  the  immigrants  learn 
wisdom  by  experience.^ 

Most  immigrants  have  been  peasants  at  home.  In 
the  little,  isolated  peasant  villages  from  which  they 
came,  life  was,  and  is  still,  relatively  fixed  and  settled. 
Custom  and  tradition  provided  for  all  the  exigencies  of 
daily  life.  Conduct  was  based  on  face  -to-face  relation- 
ships— that  is  to  say,  speech  and  neighborly  gossip. 
In  America  they  are  likely  to  be  laborers,  participating 
more  or  less  in  the  turbulent  cosmopolitan  life  of  our 
modern  industrial  cities.  Here,  where  there  are  vast 
distances  and  no  traditions,  where  the  population  is 
mobile  and  everything  is  in  process,  the  peasants  dis- 
card their  habits  and  acquire  "ideas." 

In  America,  above  all,  the  immigrants  organize. 
Their  organizations  are  the  embodiment  of  their  new 
needs  and  their  new  ideas.  They  become  Sociahsts  or 
nationalists,  or  members  of  fraternal  organizations,  and 
read  papers,  because  practically  every  immigrant  or- 
j/ganization  publishes  some  sort  of  paper. 

Closely  connected  with  the  societies  are  the  newspapers, 
which  also  have  attained  a  surprising  development  here. 
Among  the  Slovaks,  and  perhaps  among  some  other  nationali- 
ties, the  circulation  of  papers  in  their  own  language  is  greater 
in  America  than  it  is  at  home,  where  the  press  of  a  discon- 

1  EmUy  G.  Balcb,  Our  Slamc  Fellow  Citizens,  1910,  pp.  418-419. 
10 


WHY  THERE  IS  A  FOREIGN-LANGUAGE  PRESS 

tented  nationality  has  to  meet  every  sort  of  political 
hindrance.  .  .  . 

The  Slavic-American  press  represents,  of  course,  very  di- 
vergent points  of  view.  Many  of  the  papers  are  conducted 
by  priests  for  purposes  of  edification;  some  are  political,  of 
which  a  part  are  labor  and  Socialist  sheets;  and  a  substantial 
number  find  raison  d'etre  and  support  as  organs  of  certain  of 
the  societies.  Of  this  type  are  Zgoda,  organ  of  the  Polish 
National  Alliance,  with  a  circulation  of  about  55,000,  or  the 
Organ  Bratstva,  organ  of  the  C.  S.  P.  S.,  which  is  published  by 
the  Supreme  Lodge  of  the  society  at  the  rate  of  forty  cents  a 
month  to  each  member,  antl  which  prints  at  the  beginning  of 
each  month  the  list  of  deaths  and  the  consequent  assess- 
ment. .  .  . 

Some  of  these  publications,  especially  the  monthlies,  are 
literary  reviews ;  others  are  comic  sheets;  while  others,  again, 
serve  special  interests,  as,  for  instance,  the  Sokol  papers,  the 
Polish  Ilarmonia,  the  Polsky  Farmer,  and  the  Bohemian 
Hospodar  (Farmer). 

One  paper,  the  Zenske  Listij,  of  Chicago,  is  the  organ  of  a 
woman's  society,  and  is  printed  as  well  as  edited  by  women. 
It  is  not  devoted  to  "beauty  lessons"  and  "household  hints," 
but  to  efforts  toward  women's  suffrage  and  the  "uplifting  of 
the  mental  attitude  of  working  women."  Its  6,000  subscrib- 
ers include  distinguished  Bohemians  all  over  the  country, 
men  as  well  as  women. ' 

In  addition  to  every  other  reason  for  the  existence  of 
a  foreign-language  press  is  its  value  to  the  immigrant, 
in  satisfying  his  mere  human  desire  for  expression  in  his 
mother  tongue.  In  the  language  of  most  of  us  there 
are  two  vocabularies.  One  of  these  is  made  up  of  words 
that  are  idiomatic,  personal,  and  expressive.  It  is  the 
language  of  everyday  life,  mother  tongue  in  the  narrow 
sense  of  that  term.  The  other  is  made  up  of  words  that 
are  more  formal,  more  precise,  perhaps,  but  less 
expressive. 

1  Emily  G.  Balch,  Our  Slavic  Fellow  Citizens,  1910,  pp.  383-384. 
2  11 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  .\ND  ITS  CONTROL 

^  It  is  much  easier  to  acquire  the  formal  language  of  a 
people  than  it  is  their  more  expressive  idioms.  Conse- 
quently, for  most  immigrants  their  native  tongue  must 
always  be  their  "mother  tongue."  Even  if  they  learu 
the  idiom  of  our  language  and  it  becomes  for  them  a 
storehouse  of  new  associations  and  memories,  the 
earlier  memories  are  bound  up  with  the  earlier  language. 
That  is  the  reason,  no  doubt,  that  Carl  Schurz  WTote 
the  first  volume  of  his  autobiography  in  German  rather 
than  English. 

The  national  language  is  the  poor  man's  literature  and  folk- 
lore, it  is  his  history  and  tradition,  it  reflects  what  he  loiows 
of  his  own  country  and  of  the  outer  world,  it  is  his  fund  of 
music  and  song,  it  is  the  repertory  of  his  prayers,  it  is  the 
source  of  his  wise  maxims;  in  it  he  gives  vent  to  his  feelings, 
to  his  hopes  and  fears;  in  it  he  hears  words  of  consolation 
and  encouragement  from  his  friends;  and  in  it  the  minister 
of  his  religion  soothes  his  soul  Id  its  passage  to  eternity.  He 
teaches  that  language  to  his  children,  not  by  any  system  of 
pedagogy,  but  in  the  school  of  nature  and  parental  affection, 
with  the  infant  pupil  reclining  on  his  breast  and  the  tender 
hands  stroking  his  rugged  cheek.  But  in  teaching  that  lan- 
guage he  makes  his  infant  child  a  denizen  of  an  empire  that 
embraces  the  past  and  present;  he  makes  him  heir  to  the 
thought,  the  wisdom,  the  imagination,  the  melody  of  his  an- 
cestors; he  supplies  him  with  a  medium  in  which  he  can 
continue  the  interrupted  conversation  of  those  that  went 
before  him,  add  to  their  store  of  wisdom,  and  revel  in  their 
sallies  of  wit  and  humor;  and  all  this  in  as  kindly  and  natural 
a  manner  as  if  long  generations  of  his  forefathers  still  inhabited 
tlie  earth,  and  sang  their  songs,  and  repeated  their  words  of 
wisdom  in  his  ear.i 

As  long  as  there  are  people  In  this  country  who  have 
common  racial  or  nationalist  interests,  they  will  have 

^Rev.  P.  S.  Dineen,  Lectures  on  the  Irish  Language  Movement, 
1904,  p.  12. 

12 


WHY  THERE  IS  A  FOREIGN-LANGUAGE  PRESS 

papers  to  interpret  events  from  their  own  peculiar 
point  of  view.  So  there  is,  in  America,  an  Irish  press, 
a  Jewish  press,  and  a  Negro  press,  not  to  mention  others, 
pubhshed  in  EngHsh.  There  is  a  Canadian,  Louisianan, 
and  cosmopoUtan  press  pubhshed  in  French.  There  is 
a  Spanish-American,  South  American,  and  Mexican 
press,  all  published  in  Spanish.  The  press  has  become 
an  organ  of  speech.    Every  group  has  its  own. 


J 


n 


EUROPEAN  BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  IMMIGRANT 
PRESS 

Large  numbers  of  Europeans,  chiefly  of  the  peasant 
peoples,  from  which  most  of  our  immigrants  come,  have 
never  seen,  in  their  own  country,  books,  newspapers,  or 
any  other  reading  matter  printed  in  the  language  they 
are  accustomed  to  speak,  the  only  one  they  fully  under- 
stand. This  is  true  because  the  written  language,  the 
language  of  the  educated  classes,  has  differed  widely 
from  the  folk  vernacular.  Either  the  influential  classes, 
from  scholastic  interest  and  as  a  badge  of  superiority, 
have  developed  a  standard  form  of  the  race  language 
for  literary  purposes;  or  a  conquering  race,  which  sup- 
plied the  ruling  classes,  has  used  its  own  tongue  for 
written  and  oflBcial  communication. 

This  latter  form  of  monopoly  has  been  consciously 
fostered  by  conquering  races  in  the  interest  of  political 
solidarity.  In  many  cases,  in  fact,  where  subject  peo- 
ples have  attempted  to  print  books  and  papers  in  their 
vernaculars,  the  conquerors  have  forcibly  suppressed 
these  efforts.  In  either  case  the  result  has  been  the 
same:  a  literary  language  has  grown  up  that  is  the 
exclusive  property  of  the  dominant  classes,  and  the 
press  consequently  has  been  unintelligible  to  the  ma- 
jority of  the  population. 

INTELLECTUAL  DEVELOPMENT  AND  THE  READING  HABIT 

The  average  man  rarely  masters  any  language  but  the 
one  he  speaks.    When  the  book  language  that  he  learns 

14 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 

at  school  differs  widely  from  the  vernacular,  he  reads 
very  little.  When  books  and  papers  are  printed  in  a 
language  totally  different  from  the  one  he  uses  in 
everyday  hfe,  probably  he  does  not  read  at  all. 

When  a  man  does  not  read  he  can  secure  the  ideas  of 
other  men  only  by  word  of  mouth.  When  the  majority 
of  people  over  a  wide  area  lack  the  reading  habit,  facts 
about  the  outside  world,  or  ideas  current  in  it,  have 
little  chance  of  seeping  through  to  the  average  man. 
His  mind  is  imprisoned  in  his  parish  or  commune.  In- 
tellectual backwardness  inevitably  results. 

DIVERGENCE  OF  WTIITTEN  AND  SPOKEN  LANGUAGE 

There  is  everywhere  a  clear  distinction  between  the 
written  and  the  spoken  language,  between  the  language 
of  the  schools  and  the  language  of  the  street.  Everyone 
recognizes  that  the  difference  exists,  but  few  realize  the 
extent  of  it,  or  understand  its  practical  significance.  A 
recent  writer  has  called  attention,  however,  to  the  fact 
that  not  only  does  the  average  American  not  speak 
the  English  of  the  books,  but  he  probably  does  not 
understand  more  than  two-thirds  of  what  "comes  from 
the  lips  of  the  average  political  orator  or  clergyman." 

Go  into  any  part  of  the  country.  North,  East,  South,  or 
West,  and  you  will  find  multitudes  of  his  brothers  (i.e.,  men 
like  Joseph  Jaeobs's  Middle  American) — car  conductors  in 
Philadelphia,  immigrants  of  the  second  generation  in  the 
East  Side  of  New  York,  ironworkers  in  the  Pittsburgh  region, 
corner  grocers  in  St.  Louis,  holders  of  petty  political  jobs  in 
Atlanta  and  New  Orleans,  small  farmers  in  Kansas  or  Ken- 
tucky, house  carpenters  in  Ohio,  tinners  and  plumbers  in 
Chicago — genuine  Americans  all,  imdistinguished  norms  of 
the  Homo  Americanics.  Such  typical  Americans,  after  a  fash- 
ion, know  English.  They  can  read  it — all  save  the  "hard" 
words — i.e.,  all  save  about  90  per  cent  of  the  words  of  Greek 

15 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

and  Latin  origin.  They  can  understand,  perhaps,  two-thirds 
of  it  as  it  comes  from  the  lips  of  a  pohtical  orator  or  clergy- 
man. They  have  a  feeling  that  it  is,  in  some  recondite  sense, 
superior  to  the  common  speech  of  their  kind.  They  recognize 
a  fluent  command  of  it  as  the  salient  mark  of  a  "smart"  and 
"educated"  man,  one  with  "the  gift  of  gab."  But  they 
themselves  never  speak  it,  nor  try  to  speak  it,  nor  do  they 
look  with  approbation  on  efforts  in  that  direction  by  their 
fellows.^ 

The  reason  that  the  ordinary  man  does  not  fully 
understand  the  "highbrow,"  when  he  is  discoursing, 
may  be  that  the  matter  under  discussion  is  itself  ab- 
struse. In  that  case  it  is  possible  that  the  highbrow 
does  not  fully  understand  his  owti  remarks.  In  most 
instances,  however,  the  average  man's  failure  to  com- 
prehend is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  does  not  speak  the 
same  language  as  the  academic  person,  and  no  one  fully 
comprehends  a  form  of  speech  that  he  does  not  habit- 
ually use.  What  is  interesting  and  significant  in  this 
connection  is  the  fact  that  however  wide  the  diver- 
gence between  the  written  and  the  spoken  language 
may  be  in  America,  it  is  considerably  less  in  this  coun- 
try than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

In  no  other  country  is  so  much  effort  and  ingenuity 
expended  in  perfecting  the  art,  not  merely  of  printing, 
but  of  publication  and  publicity.  Not  only  is  the  lan- 
guage of  the  press  already  simpler,  more  direct  and 
incisive,  closer  to  the  language  of  the  street,  than 
in  other  countries,  but  the  distinction  between  the 
written  and  the  spoken  speech  is  steadily  decreasing, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  "the  typical  literary  product 
of  the  country  is  still  a  refined  essay  in  the  Atlantic 
Monthly:'  2 

The  enormous  circulation  of  the  Saturday  Evening 

1  H.  L.  Mencken,  The  American  Language,  1919,  pp.  185-186. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  305. 

16 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS 


Post  and  similar  magazines  indicates  the  approach  of 
the  written  to  the  spoken  language. 

TABLE  I 
Magazines  Having  Over  1,000,000  Circul.\tion  ^ 


Needlecroft  Magazine 

Farm  Journal 

Woman's  World 

Cosmopolitan 

American  Magazine 

Collier's  Weekly 

Woman's  Home  Companion 

Comfort 

McCall's 

Butterick  Trio 

Pictorial  Reviexo 

Ladies'  Home  Journal 

Saturday  Evening  Post 

American  Weekly  (Sunday  Magazine  Section) . 


1,003.832 
1,015,791 
1,018.448 
1,021,037 
1,038,422 
1,064,294 
1,085,360 
1,197,410 
1.201,386 
1,411,839 
1,605,301 
1,822,577 
2,020,930 
2,395,246 


»  American  Newspaper  Annual  and  Directory,  1920,  N.  W.  Ayer  &  Son. 

The  fact  evident  from  the  following  table,  that  the 
number  of  daily  newspapers  does  not  increase  at  the 
same  rate  as  circulations,  shows  that  existing  journals 
are  being  made  interesting  to  wider  and  wider  audiences. 

TABLE  II 
Aggregate  Circulation  op  Daily  Newspapers,  1904, 1909, 1914 ' 


Year 

NUMBEK 

Total, 
Circulation 

Average 
Circulation 

1904    

2,452 
2,600 
2.580 

19,632,603 
24,211,977 
28,777,454 

8,006 

1909 

9,312 

1914 

11,154 

The  relatively  slight  difference  between  the  speech 
of  the  American  "highbrow"  and  that  of  the  American 
"lowbrow"  results  from  the  tendency  of  people  of  dif- 
ferent experience  and  interests,  either  geographical  or 

*  Census  of  manufacturers,  1914,  Vol.  II,  p.  653. 
17 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

occupational,  to  develop  different  forms  of  speech. 
Carried  to  extremes,  this  tendency  causes  the  formation 
first  of  dialects  and  then  of  distinct  languages. 

In  the  United  States  there  are,  practically  speaking, 
no  dialects,  a  thing  which  is  peculiar  to  this  country. 

"The  speech  of  the  United  States,"  said  Gilbert  M.  Tucker, 
"  is  quite  unlike  that  of  Great  Britain  in  the  important  particu- 
lar that  here  we  have  no  dialects."  ..."  While  we  have,  or  have 
had,  single  counties  as  large  as  Great  Britain,"  said  another 
American  observer,  "and  in  some  of  our  states  England  could 
be  lost,  there  is  practically  no  difference  between  the  Ameri- 
can spoken  in  our  4,039,000  square  miles  of  territory,  except 
as  spoken  by  foreigners.  We,  assembled  here,  would  be  per- 
fectly imderstood  by  delegates  from  Texas,  Maine,  Minne- 
sota, Louisiana,  or  Alaska,  from  whatever  walk  of  life  they 
might  come.  We  can  go  to  any  of  the  75,000  post  offices  in 
this  country  and  be  entirely  sure  we  will  be  understood, 
whether  we  want  to  buy  a  stamp  or  borrow  a  match."  .  .  . 

No  other  country  can  show  such  linguistic  solidarit}',  nor 
any  approach  to  it — not  even  Canada,  for  there  a  large  part 
of  the  population  resists  learning  English  altogether.  The 
Little  Russian  of  the  Ukraine  is  unintelligible  to  the  citizen 
of  Petrograd;  the  northern  Italian  can  scarcely  follow  a  con- 
versation in  Sicilian;  the  Low  German  from  Hamburg  is  a 
foreigner  to  Munich;  the  Breton  flounders  in  Gascony.  Even 
in  the  United  Kingdom  there  are  wide  divergences.  "When 
we  remember,"  says  the  New  International  Encyclopaedia, 
"that  the  dialects  of  the  coxmties  in  England  have  marked  dif- 
ferences— so  marked,  indeed,  that  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
a  Lancashire  miner  and  a  Lincolnshire  farmer  could  under- 
stand each  other — we  may  well  be  proud  that  our  vast  coun- 
try has,  strictly  speaking,  only  one  language."  ^ 

NATURAL   DEVELOPMENT   OF   LANGUAGE   DIFFERENCES 

Differences  between  the  literary  form  of  the  language 
and  the  dialects  spoken  in  various  localities  have  been 

^  H.  L.  Mencken,  The  American  Language,  1919,  pp.  20-21,  passim. 

18 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 

a  grave  obstacle  to  reading  in  many  races.  Often  the 
language  form  that  pre-empted  the  field  of  the  press 
has  been  the  formalized  mother  tongue. 

In  Greece  the  schools  are  just  beginning  to  teach  the 
spoken  language.  The  literary  language,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  as  little  spoken  as  the  Latin  of  Csesar  was  in 
Italy  in  his  time.  There  have  been  some  attempts  to 
make  the  vernacular  a  literary  language,  but  reverence 
for  the  ancient  forms  of  speech  has  hitherto  made  this 
unpatriotic.  In  November,  1901,  students  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Athens  rose  in  insurrection  against  the  gov- 
ernment because,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  queen,  the 
Church  authorities  had  ventured  to  publish  the  Bible 
in  the  vernacular. 

The  preservation  of  a  distinct  literary  language  in 
Greece  is  probably  not  due  entirely  to  patriotic  rever- 
ence for  the  past.  Practical  reasons  justify  it.  Dia- 
lectical differences  are  probably  more  pronounced 
among  the  Greeks  than  in  any  other  language  group  in 
Europe.  Under  these  circumstances  the  literary  lan- 
guage, even  if  it  is  never  spoken,  becomes  a  medium  of 
communication  between  the  educated  classes,  where 
differences  in  dialect  would  otherwise  make  individuals 
from  different  provinces  unintelligible  to  one  another. 
It  should  also  be  remembered  that,  of  the  10,000,000 
Greeks  who  profess  allegiance  to  the  Greek  nationality, 
only  2,500,000  were  living  before  the  World  War  within 
the  boundaries  of  the  Greek  state.^  Literary  Greek 
performs,  in  a  measure,  the  same  function  among  the 
widely  dispersed  members  of  the  Greek  nationality  that 
Latin  did  for  all  Europeans  in  the  Middle  Ages,  which 
Hebrew  does  still  among  the  Jews.  It  is  the  language 
of  learning  and  of  written  discourse. 

China  ofPers  the  classic  illustration  of  a  language  that 

^  Charles  Vel!ay,  "L'lrredentisme  Hellenique,"  in  La  Revue  de 
Paris,  1913,  pp.  88^-886. 

19 


THE  IMIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Is  written,  but  not  spoken.  The  spoken  language  of 
China  differs  to  such  an  extent  in  the  various  provinces 
that  a  conference  of  native  Christians  recently  found  it 
necessary  to  conduct  proceedings  in  English  in  order 
that  delegates  from  different  parts  of  the  empire  might 
understand  one  another.  In  June,  1910,  the  Chinese 
government  approved  a  recommendation  of  the  Board 
of  Education  that  English  should  be  the  official  lan- 
guage of  scientific  and  technical  education. 

The  situation  in  China  is  still  further  complicated  by 
the  fact  that  the  literary  language,  particularly  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Chinese  classics,  is  composed  in  a  style  so 
concise  and  so  formal  that  it  can  be  underwood  only  by 
scholars.  It  is  said  that  no  book  that  made  any  pre- 
tension to  literary  style  would  be  intelligible,  even  to 
educated  Chinamen,  if  read  aloud  exactly  as  printed. 
The  public  reader  of  stories  is  compelled  to  translate 
into  the  colloquial  language  of  his  audience  as  he  goes 
along. 

China  has  also  had  a  literary  awakening,  or  something 
that  corresponds  to  it.  While  in  Europe  the  practical 
outcome  of  those  awakenings  was  to  create  a  literature 
in  a  language  intelligible  to  the  people,  in  China  it  has 
taken  the  direction  of  a  modification  of  the  written 
speech  so  as  to  make  it  practicable  for  the  uses  of  a 
popular  press. 

The  written  Chinese  language,  in  its  evolution,  has  under- 
gone two  stages — the  classic  and  the  journalistic — and  is  now 
entering  upon  another  stage — namel}%  the  vernacular.  About 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  the  classic  language  gave  way  to 
journalistic,  though  it  must  be  made  clear  here  that  the  latter 
may  still  be  tinged  with  color  of  the  former,  and  the  former, 
though  to  less  degree,  is  still  being  used.  The  difference  of 
the  journalistic  from  the  classic  language  lies  in  the  frequent 
use  of  adverbs,  prepositions,  and  conjunctions,  resulting  in 
simplicity  of  style  and  a  small  number  of  allusions.    When  it 

20 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS 

was  first  introduced,  it  was  looked  down  upon  by  the  old 
literati  and  greatly  criticized,  but  popular  support  gave  it 
supremacy  in  a  short  time.  The  advent  of  the  vernacular 
style  came  about  two  years  ago,  when  a  group  of  young 
Chinese  and  a  few  American  returned  students,  realizing  the 
importance  of  popularizing  education  by  means  of  simple 
language,  attempted  to  revolutionize  the  Chinese  literatiu-e 
by  translating  into  wTiting  the  spoken  language.  Of  course, 
the  spoken  language  had  been  wTitten  out  before  this  time, 
but  its  use  was  limited  to  a  small  circle  of  comparatively  not 
well-educated  people.  Its  style  was  coarse  and  unfinished. 
The  innovators  or  literary  revolutionists  have  a  new  vision 
of  the  vernacular  and  are  endeavoring  to  put  into  it  grace 
and  elegance,  without  which  no  Chinese  literature  or  any 
literature  can  be  esteemed  or  can  have  permanent  value. 
Magazines  TVTitten  in  this  style  spring  up  overnight;  men  of 
national  fame  come  to  its  support.  Some  of  the  prominent 
exponents  have  been  imprisoned  by  the  government,  and  the 
result  of  this  literary  controversy  still  remains  to  be  seen. 

...  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  v.riter  that  the  vernacular  style, 
inelegant  as  it  may  be  at  present,  will  in  the  course  of  time 
develop,  tlirough  the  pens  of  young  literary  geniuses,  into  a 
written  language,  simple,  expressive,  noble,  and  beautiful.^ 

Sometimes  the  literary  field  is  monopolized  by  the 
language  introduced  by  conquering  strangers.  "^Tiat 
Rome  did  first  in  Italy  and  then  in  the  provinces,  the 
dominant  races  that  succeeded  the  Latins  in  Europe 
have  everyA\here  repeated.  Everywhere  the  conquer- 
ors, in  imposing  peace  and  order,  have  at  the  same  time 
imposed  their  languages  and  their  cultures.  As  the 
power  of  Rome  was  centered  in  the  larger  cities,  whence 
the  laws  and  decrees  of  the  imperial  government  were 
promulgated  and  tribute  of  the  conquered  tribes  re- 
ceived, so  with  the  later  and  lesser  conquests  the  domi- 
nant peoples  occupied  the  cities.    The  language  of  the 

^Jennings  P.  Chu,  unpublished  paper  on  "The  Development  of 
the  Chinese  Language." 

21 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL' 

dominant  people  became  the  oflBcial  language,  the  lan- 
guage of  literature,  the  medium  of  commerce,  religion, 
and  the  only  road  to  office  or  preferment. 

.  .  .  The  Roman  officials  in  Gaul  encouraged  and  rewarded 
the  mastery  of  the  Latin  tongue  and  the  acquirement  of 
Roman  culture,  customs,  and  manners.  Thanks  to  this  well- 
defined  policy  of  the  Roman  government,  native  Gauls  were 
found  in  important  offices  even  in  Caesar's  time.  The  num- 
ber of  these  Gallo-Roman  offices  increased  rapidly,  and  their 
influence  was  steadily  exercised  in  favor  of  the  acquirement, 
by  the  natives,  of  the  Latin  language.  A  greater  inducement 
still  was  held  out  to  the  Gauls  to  acquire  the  ways  and  culture 
of  their  conquerors.  This  was  the  prospect  of  employment 
or  pohtical  preference  and  honors  in  the  imperial  city  of  Rome 
itself.  Under  the  pressure  so  diplomatically  applied,  the 
study  of  the  Latin  language,  grammar,  literature,  and  ora- 
tory became  a  passion  throughout  the  cities  of  Gaul,  which 
were  full  of  Roman  merchants,  traders,  teachers,  philosophers, 
lawyers,  artists,  sculptors,  and  seekers  for  political  and  other 
offices.  Latin  was  the  symbol  of  success  in  every  avenue  of 
life.i 

It  was  in  this  way  that  Latin  became  the  language  of 
learning  and  religion  in  western  Europe.  In  the  same 
way,  a  little  later,  the  French,  English,  Germans,  and 
more  recently  the  Russians,  have  transmitted  their  lan- 
guages to  the  peoples  within  the  orbit  of  their  political 
control.  But  these  invading  and  colonizing  languages 
have  not  displaced  the  native  forms  of  speech,  except 
in  the  cities.  Outside  the  cities  the  older  languages  and 
the  more  primitive  cultures  have  persisted.  The  result 
is  that,  to-day,  over  large  areas  of  Europe,  the  urban 
population  speaks  one  language  and  the  rural  popula- 
tion another.    This  is  true,  to  a  large  extent,  in  Norway. 

.  .  .  Although  Norway  had  seceded  from  Denmark  in  1814, 
the  Danish  language,  representing  the  speech  of  the  more 

'  Encyclopaedia  Americana,  vol.  ii,  1918,  p.  646. 
22 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  BIMIGRiVNT  PRESS 

energetic  and  better  educated  Danes,  remained  official.  Four 
and  a  half  centuries  of  union  between  the  two  countries 
had  made  Danish  the  medium  of  intellectual  development 
throughout  Norway.  But  this  linguistic  invasion  was  ac- 
companied by  a  notable  modification  of  Danish.  Norwegian 
intonations  and  sound  articulations  became  adapted  to  it, 
and  the  Norwegian-Danish  language,  which  is  spoken  to-day, 
gradually  came  into  use. 

This  hybrid  language,  however,  does  not  prevail  exclusively. 
About  95  per  cent  of  the  Norwegians  speak,  according  to  dis- 
tricts, different  dialects  derived  from  the  old  Norse.  The 
Norwego-Danish,  or  Riksmaal,  is  the  language  of  polite 
society,  and  the  one  which  a  foreigner  naturally  leams  when 
in  Norway.  The  language  of  the  land,  or  Norsk,  as  it  is  called 
by  the  Norwegians,  has  the  merit  of  being  more  homogeneous 
than  either  Danish  or  Swedish.^ 

In  Posen,  and  in  the  Baltic  provinces,  Germans 
occupy  the  cities  and  own  the  large  estates;  the  Poles, 
the  Letts,  and  Esthonians  represent  the  peasant  class. 
In  Transylvania  and  Slovakia  the  Magyars  are  mainly 
in  the  cities,  while  Rumanian  and  Slovak  peasants 
occupy  the  land.  In  Lithuania,  and  in  eastern  and 
southern  Galicia,  the  Poles  are  the  city  folk,  and  repre- 
sent the  intelligentsia  of  the  province;  the  Lithuanians 
and  the  Ruthenians,  or  Little  Russians,  are  in  the  rural 
areas.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  Balkan  wars  of  1912-13, 
the  Turks  occupied  the  cities;  the  Bulgarians  and  the 
Serbs  made  up  the  peasant  classes.  The  same  condi- 
tions existed  a  little  earlier  in  Ireland,  Wales,  and  the 
Scottish  Highlands.  The  Celtic  languages  lingered  in 
the  rural  areas,  and  particularly  in  the  Highlands,  but 
they  disappeared  in  the  cities. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Welsh  counties  were  divided  into 
two  classes  very  imequal  in  numbers:    a  land-owning  class, 

^  Leon  Dominian,  "Scandinavian  and  Baltic  Languages,"  in  The 
Frontiers  of  Language  and  Nationality  in  Europe,  1917,  p.  08. 

23 


THE  i:\I]\IIGR.VNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

aristocratic  in  type,  speaking  for  the  most  part  the  English 
language  alone,  in  close  touch  with  the  same  class  in  England, 
actuated  by  the  same  motives,  and  imbued  with  the  same 
prejudices;  and  the  other  class  chiefly  cultivators  of  the  soil, 
habitually  speaking  the  Welsh  language,  re  taming  many  views 
of  life,  ideas,  and  traditions  belonging  to  an  earher  stage  of 
civilization,  lively  in  character,  imaginative,  quick  in  action, 
passionately  devoted  to  music  and  country  piu'suits.  .  .  . 

It  is  probable  that  the  Welsh  farmers  and  their  families 
{i.e.,  before  the  Welsh  religious  and  linguistic  revivals)  had 
hardly  progressed  intellectually  as  a  class  from  the  time  of 
the  Conquest.  Every  indication  that  we  possess  shows  that 
hardly  any  one  of  them  could  read  or  write,  and  it  is  clear 
that  the  provision  for  education  was  of  the  scantiest  possible 
description.  .  .  .^ 

The  significance  of  this  situation  lies  in  the  fact  that, 
while  the  language  of  the  conquered  people  did  in  every 
^case  survive,  it  remained  until  recently  a  spoken  tongue. 
As  literature  developed  it  was  in  the  official  language. 

This  has  usually  been  the  result  of  a  natural  process. 
The  rulers  of  the  land  have  used  their  owti  language  in 
all  departments  of  government.  \\'hen  they  established 
schools,  these  have  been  conducted  in  the  tongue  of  the 
founders.  They  have  been  the  people  with  sufficient 
wealth  and  leisure  to  encourage  learning  and  the  arts. 
Their  economic  and  social  prestige  has  discredited  the 
vernacular  with  those  members  of  the  native  race  who 
were  ambitious  for  culture  or  position.  The  nobility 
and  the  educated  classes  of  the  more  or  less  denational- 
ized peoples  have  regarded  their  racial  languages  much 
as  the  Englishman  regards  the  cockney  dialect — 
namely,  as  a  mark  of  ill  breeding,  if  not  of  inferiority. 
Up  to  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  it  is  said,  an  edu- 
cated Bohemian  or  a  Magyar  would  hesitate  to  use  his 
native  language  upon  the  streets  of  Prague  or  Buda- 

'  John  Rhys  and  David  Brynmor  Jones,  "The  Religious  Move- 
ment," in  Tlie  Welsh  People,  cliap.  x,  pp.  470-471. 

24 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  EVEVIIGRANT  PRESS 

pest.    It  would  have  been  regarded,  at  that  time,  as  a 
mark  of  peasant  origin. 


CLEAVAGE  PERPETUATED  BY  SUPPRESSIONS 

So  far,  so  good;  but  if  the  subject  race  has  grown 
restive,  if  it  has  displayed  a  national  consciousness  and 
a  desire  to  have  its  own  press,  then  the  rulers  have  sup- 
pressed the  mother  tongue  wnth  a  heavy  hand.  Espe- 
cially in  the  latter-day  conquests  of  well-defined  politi- 
cal and  racial  entities,  the  use  of  the  native  language  in 
school,  press,  or  pulpit  has  been  prohibited  by  law. 
This  policy  is  intended  to  secure  the  conquest  and  pro- 
mote political  sohdarity. 

Until  1906  there  were  no  schools  above  the  village  schools, 
in  Lithuania,  Mhcre  the  national  language  was  either  used  as 
the  language  of  instruction  or  could  even  be  studied.  A  few 
of  the  richer  Lithuanians  at  one  time  used  to  scud  their  chil- 
dren to  the  Lett  schools  in  Courland,  but  in  the  early  nineties 
this  was  stopped.  .  .  . 

For  forty  years,  from  1864  to  1905,  the  use  of  the  Latin 
script  was  forbidden  in  Lithuania;  and  CjTillicized  school- 
books  and  prayer  books  were  issued  by  the  government 
presses  for  the  Lithuanian  churches  and  village  schools.  But 
the  people  would  not  use  the  "schismatic"  dictionaries  and 
grammars;  and  in  spite  of  the  perquisitions  of  the  Russian 
policemen,  leading  to  scandalous  and  sometimes  ridiculous 
scenes,  Lithuania  was  flooded  with  books  in  the  traditional 
Latin  script,  printed  in  Prussia,  and  smuggled  across  the 
frontier;  and,  in  more  recent  years,  with  books  from  the 
Lithuanian  presses  in  the  United  States.^ 

In  the  Ukraine,  in  Russian  Poland,  and  in  the  Baltic 
states  the  languages  of  the  peoples  were  interdicted  in 
the  same  manner  that  they  were  in  Lithuania.  But  the 
Russian  autocracy  was  a  blundering,  good-natured,  and 

^  Ralph  Butler,  The  New  Eastern  Europe,  1919,  pp.  57-58. 
25 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

ineflScient  institution,  and  as  long  as  authority  was 
recognized,  there  were  always  ways  of  coming  to  terras 
with  it.  The  result  was  that  the  masses  of  the  people  in 
the  border  provinces  did  read  and  did  maintain  folk 
speech  as  a  literary  language.  The  fact  that  what  they 
read  was  contraband  undoubtedly  added  zest  to  the 
reading  of  it. 

The  situation  in  Germany,  however,  was  different. 
There  autocracy  was  efficient,  and  the  prohibitions  it 
imposed  were,  if  less  severe  in  form,  more  effective  in 
fact.  In  1872  Bismarck  inaugurated  his  policy  of  Ger- 
manization  in  Posen  by  decreeing  that  German  should 
be  the  language  of  instruction  in  the  Polish  schools. 
At  the  same  time  he  instructed  the  police  to  close  any 
public  meeting  where  speeches  were  made  in  any  lan- 
guage other  than  German.  The  immediate  effect  was 
to  provoke  a  violent  resistance.  There  were  riots  and 
disturbances  throughout  the  provinces  of  German  Po- 
land, which  were  followed,  as  might  be  expected,  by 
further  repressive  measures.  By  1906  matters  had  gone 
so  far  that  a  school  strike  was  organized  which  involved 
150,000  children.  They  refused  to  answer  in  German. 
The  whole  matter  was  widely  advertised.  Numerous 
studies  and  investigations  were  made  by  learned  Ger- 
man professors,  and  a  whole  literature  grew  up  around 
the  subject. 

LOSS  OF  RACIAL  IDENTITY 

The  peoples  whose  languages  were  suppressed  or  sup- 
planted practically  ceased  to  exist  culturally  and 
politically. 

When  Finland  passed  from  Swedish  into  Russian  hands,  in 
1808,  the  Tsar  Alexander  was  under  the  impression  that  he 
liad  annexed  a  Swedish  province.  The  culture  was  Swedish; 
the  religion  was  Swedish;  when  he  visited  the  country  the 
language  in  which  the  Diet  greeted  him  was  Swedish.    The 

26 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 

peasants,  he  was  told,  sp>oke  a  barbarous  tongue  of  their  own; 
but  for  all  Alexander  knew  that  might  well  be  a  dialect  of 
Swedish,  as  Little  Russian  was  of  Russian.  He  was  not 
interested  in  the  matter.  Very  few  persons  at  this  time  were.^ 
The  case  of  Lithuania  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago  was  in  some 
respects  peculiar.  Like  the  other  non-Slavonic  nations,  she 
had  been  subjected  for  some  half  a  century  to  the  influence  of 
Russian  Pan-Slavism,  and  had  had  her  full  share  of  Russifi- 
cation.  Few  persons,  fifty  years  ago,  distinguished  Lithuania 
from  Poland.  For  purposes  of  government,  Lithuania  was 
Polish.  The  nobles  were  Polish;  and  it  was  with  the  nobles 
that  the  Russian  government  was  at  this  moment  principally 
concerned.  No  educated  man  in  Ko\tio,  in  Vihia,  in  Suvalki, 
spoke  the  Lithuanian  language.  The  newspapers  were  Polish. 
The  higher  schools — till  they  were  Russified — were  Polish. 
The  University  of  Vilna,  while  it  existed — it  was  suppressed 
by  the  Russian  government  some  years  after  the  first  Polish 
rismg  of  1830 — had  been  Polish.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the 
clergy,  the  memory  of  a  written  Lithuanian  language  would 
have  been  lost.^ 

From  1876  to  1905  (not  without  mitigations  from  time  to 
time  in  practice),  and  again  from  1914  to  1917,  it  was  for- 
bidden to  publish  a  book,  or  to  import  a  book,  or  to  produce 
a  play,  or  to  deliver  a  lecture,  or  to  preach  a  sermon,  in  the 
Ukrainian  language.  All  education  from  the  village  school  to 
the  university  was  in  Russian.  A  large  part,  perhaps  the 
majority,  of  the  educated  classes  rarely  spoke  a  word  of 
Ukrainian  except  to  servants  or  peasants.  The  higher  strata 
of  society,  the  functionaries,  the  military,  the  nobility,  the 
superior  clergy,  were  almost  entirely  denationalized.  So  to 
a  great  extent  were  the  lower  strata  in  the  towns.  And  even 
in  the  villages,  where  the  Ukrainian  language  was  universal, 
the  so-called  village  aristocracy,  time-expired  noncommis- 
sioned officers,  village  officials,  and  former  town  workers 
come  back  to  their  communes,  constituted  a  more  or  less 
Russianized  element.  The  majority  of  peasants  understood 
a  Russian  speaker — when  they  wished  to — weU  enough;  for, 

1  Ralph  Butler,  The  New  Eastern  Europe,  1919,  p.  8 
*  Ibid...  56-57. 
3  27 


THE  IINIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

though  many  never  went  to  school,  and  more  forgot  what  they 
learned  m  the  two  years  of  schoolmg  which  was  all  that  most 
peasants  got,  yet  most  learned  again  what  they  had  forgotten 
during  their  service  in  the  army.^ 


LITERACY   PREVENTED 

The  loss  or  inhibition  of  a  nation's  culture,  although  it 
may  deprive  the  world  of  valuable  artistic  contribu- 
tions, does  not  inhibit  the  intellectual  development  of 
the  natives  if  they  assimilate  the  culture  of  another 
race  and  make  it  their  own.  The  conquering  races  of 
Europe  expected  that  the  natives  would  adopt  their 
culture  when  they  suppressed  all  publications  in  the 
mother  tongue  and  forbade  its  use  in  the  schools. 
They  expected  the  native  child,  who  was  taught  to 
read  their  language  at  school,  to  read  their  books  and 
papers  when  he  grew  up,  and  so  absorb  their  ideas, 
see  life  from  their  point  of  view.  This  would  simplify 
their  government  problems. 

This  policy  was  successful  only  with  that  small 
minority  to  whom  intellectual  development  was  of  first 
importance.  The  exceptionally  able  secured  education 
at  the  sacrifice  of  racial  identity;  the  average  man, 
though  he  went  to  school,  got  no  education. 

The  student,  the  intellectual,  seeking  a  wider  horizon, 
looking  beyond  the  narrow  boundaries  of  his  racial 
isolation,  abandoned  his  ancestral  heritage  to  gain  a 
wider  outlook  on  life. 

Even  to  study  for  the  priesthood  a  Slovak  must  pass  through 
the  Magj'ar  semmary,  and  there  any  study  of  the  language  of 
the  future  flock  is  treated  as  ground  for  expulsion.  The 
natural  consequence  is  that  a  Slovak  who  continues  his  edu- 
cation, religious  or  secular,  beyond  the  primary  school,  neces- 
sarily receives  a  purely  Magyar  training,  and  partly  through 

1  Ralph  Butler,  The  New  Eastern  Europe,  pp.  132-133. 
28 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 

assimilation,  and  partly  through  prudential  considerations, 
generally  becomes  a  Magyar  one,  and  like  most  converts, 
'plus  royalist  que  le  roi.  Thus  the  Slovaks  lose  their  natural 
leaders  by  a  constant  drafting  off  of  the  ablest  and  most 
ambitious.! 

The  average  child,  especially  the  average  peasant 
child,  received  little  schooling.  He  never  learned  to 
read  the  official  language  easily;  he  seldom  or  never 
heard  it  spoken  after  he  left  school,  and  naturally  he 
never  read  it.  Instead  of  giving  their  own  culture  to 
the  conquered  people,  the  conquerors  cut  them  off  from 
all  culture  transmitted  by  the  written  word. 

This  result  of  the  linguistic  repressions  is  an  excellent 
example  of  what  always  haj)pens  when  the  spoken  lan- 
guage is  not  the  language  of  education. 

It  has  been  observed,  in  the  cases  of  the  Irish  and  the 
Welsh  peoples,  that  change  from  the  native  language 
to  English  has  been  accompanied  by  intellectual  de- 
terioration, due  not  to  the  mere  fact  of  change  from  one 
language  to  another,  but  to  the  fact  that  the  new  lan- 
guage was  never  thoroughly  mastered. 

The  probability  is  that  during  transition  from  the  one  lan- 
guage to  the  other  the  people  suffered  intellectually:  they 
were  cut  off  from  the  movements,  religious  and  other,  which 
took  place  among  those  of  their  countrymen  who  continued 
to  speak  AVelsh,  at  the  same  time  that  their  change  of  lan- 
guage failed  to  bring  them  into  anything  like  the  atmosphere 
of  English  culture.  Here  we  might,  perhaps,  cite  as  relevant 
the  words  of  one  of  the  commissioners  who  reported,  in  1846, 
on  education  in  Wales,  when  he  WTote  as  follows:  "As  the 
influence  of  the  Welsh  Sunday  school  decreases,  the  moral 
degradation  of  the  mhabitants  is  more  apparent.  This  is 
observable  on  approaching  the  English  border."  And  it  is 
believed  in  Wales  to  be  their  condition  still  to  some  extent, 

»  Emily  G.  Balch,  Our  Slavic  Fellow  Citizens,  1910,  p.  111. 
29 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

but  how  far  that  may  be  really  the  case  it  would  be  hard  to 
say.  ... 

As  a  rule  .  .  .  the  children  in  the  country  districts  leave 
school  before  they  have  so  far  mastered  English  as  to  be  able 
to  make  a  free  and  conifortal)le  use  of  it  in  conversation. 
Only  a  very  small  minority  of  them  become  really  bilingual, 
as  proved  by  their  habitual  use  of  Welsh  for  all  purposes, 
domestic,  social,  and  religious.  At  most,  they  retain  perhaps 
enough  of  the  English  learned  at  school  to  be  able  to  answer 
simple  questions  addressed  to  them  in  very  plain  terms.^ 

The  difficulty  of  educating  children  in  a  language 
that  is  foreign  to  their  parents  is  greater  in  rural  com- 
munities, where  the  language  of  the  schools  is  never  or 
only  rarely  spoken,  than  it  is  in  the  cities,  where  the 
language  of  instruction,  while  not  the  mother  tongue, 
is  still  the  language  of  ordinary  intercourse  outside  the 
family. 

The  difficulty  of  carrying  on  instruction  in  a  language 
that  is  foreign  to  the  home  and  the  local  community 
was  very  clearly  pointed  out  as  early  as  1824  in  the 
report  of  the  directors  of  the  Society  for  Propagating 
Christian  Knowledge.  In  reference  to  the  work  of  edu- 
cation among  the  Scotch  Highlanders,  the  report  made 
this  statement: 

"There  seems  to  be,  in  the  heads  of  the  people,  a  very  gen- 
eral prejudice  against  the  use  of  the  Gaelic  as  a  school  lan- 
guage— a  prejudice  which  has  been  found  in  its  fuU  strength 
even  when  the  older  people  could  themselves  use  no  other 
language.  But  these  poor  people  have  not  reflection  enough 
to  perceive  what  is  the  truth  on  the  subject,  that  so  long  as 
their  children  talk  no  other  language  but  Gaelic,  it  is  a  mere 
waste  of  time  and  entirelv  vain  to  burden  their  memories  for 


1  John  Rhys  and  David  Brynmor  Jones,  "Language  and  Litera- 
ture," in  The  Welsh  People,  1913,  chap,  xii,  pp.  527,  529.  The  sig- 
nificance of  the  reference  to  the  influence  of  the  Sunday  school  ap- 
pears only  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Welsh  was  taught  in  the  Simday 
school. 

SO 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  IMJVIIGRANT  PRESS 

a  few   years  with  a   vocabulary   of   dead   and   unmeaning 
English."! 

Apparently  the  Highlanders  had  taken  the  common- 
sense  view  that,  as  there  was  at  that  time  no  Gaelic 
literature,  there  was  no  reason  why  their  children 
should  learn  to  read  the  Gaelic  language. 

The  actual  situation  was  more  positively  stated  some 
years  later  by  Dr.  Norman  Macleod. 

"There  is  no  corner  in  the  world,  of  which  we  have  heard, 
where  they  learn  a  foreign  language  before  their  mother 
tongue,  excepting  only  in  the  Higlilands.  Out  in  the  Low- 
lands, if  people  tried  to  give  Latin  or  French  to  their  children 
before  they  were  able  to  read  their  owti  tongue,  and  to  make 
use  of  the  former  as  a  means  of  teaching  the  latter,  it  would 
be  thought  that  the  man  who  tried  it  had  gone  mad.  This 
has  been  done  too  long  in  the  Highlands,  and  little  profit  has 
come  of  it."  2 

The  situation  which  once  existed  in  Scotland  was  not 
unlike  that  in  Posen,  Lithuania,  Courland,  Ukrainia, 
and  some  other  places  before  the  World  War.  There 
was,  however,  one  important  difference.  The  Gaels  of 
the  Scottish  Highlands,  although  not  without  a  natural 
disposition  to  preserve  their  native  language  and  tra- 
ditions, have  been  and  are  still  eager  to  learn  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country  of  which  they  feel  themselves  a 
part.  Where  there  has  been  animosity  between  the 
dominant  and  the  minor  groups,  all  the  natural  diffi- 
culties of  carrying  on  education  in  a  foreign  language — 
foreign  at  least  to  the  people  of  the  community — has 
been  multiplied. 

The  Slovaks  have  raised  an  objection  to  the  very 
drastic  measures  of  Magyarization  to  which  they  were 

!  The  Teaching  of  Gaelic  in  Highland  Schools,  published  under  the 
nuspices  of  the  Highland  Association,  London,  1907,  p.  7. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  7. 

31 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

subjected  that  does  not  apply  to  either  Germany  or 
Russia.  "Why,"  they  say,  "should  we  learn  to  read 
Magyar  when  there  is  nothing  in  Magyar  to  read?" 

The  Slovaks,  who,  like  most  Slavs,  are  extremely  tenacious, 
object  to  this  policy  of  Magyarization  on  practical  as  well 
as  on  sentimental  grounds.  Their  own  language,  with  a  little 
experience,  practically  opens  to  them  the  whole  Slav  worlrl, 
including  Russia  (and  we  have  seen  what  wanderers  they  are). 
German,  too,  which  a  large  proportion  of  them  speak,  is  an 
important  medium  of  business  and  culture.  "But  what," 
thej'  say,  "does  Magyar  open  to  oiu-  children?  They  come 
out  of  schools,  in  most  cases,  not  really  masters  of  it  and  at 
the  same  time  illiterate  in  their  ovra  tongue,  which  they  have 
not  been  allowed  to  learn  to  read  or  WTite.  This  is  a  cause 
of  an  artificial  degree  of  illiteracy  among  our  people.  In 
America  our  people  learn  to  read  Slovak  and  come  back 
reading  the  newspapers."  ^ 

Perhaps  the  worst  that  can  be  said  against  the  efforts 
of  Germans  and  Russians  to  impose  their  languages 
upon  their  subject  peoples  is  that  they  were  not  suc- 
cessful. If  they  had  succeeded  they  would  have  put 
the  native  population  in  possession  of  a  language  that 
gave  them  access  to  the  general  culture  of  Europe.  It 
was  not  to  be  expected  that  so  much  German  as  a  Let- 
tish or  Esthonian  peasant  was  likely  to  learn  in  a  rural 
school  in  Courland  would  open  any  doors  to  the  treas- 
ures of  European  culture  that  have  been  accumulated 
and  preserved  in  the  German  language. 

On  the  contrary,  the  effort  to  give  the  peasant  an 
education  in  Russian  or  German  would  probably  close 
for  him  the  doors  to  any  knowledge  outside  his  village 
and  his  province.  He  would  not  be  schooled  enough  to 
get  it  through  the  channels  of  German  or  Russian  cul- 
ture, and  he  would  not  know  or  have  any  command  of 
other  channels.    Just  so  the  drilling  on  Greek  and  Latin 

1  Emily  G.  Balch,  Our  Slavic  Fellow  Citizens,  p.  110. 
32 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  BOIIGRANT  PRESS 

syntax,  -^bich  is  all  the  average  student  gets  from  his 
study  of  these  languages  in  the  secondary  schools, 
usually  gives  him  an  aversion  for  the  whole  subject 
and  an  idea  that  syntax  is  all  there  is  to  be  gotten  from 
it.  It  closes  the  doors,  for  him,  to  any  appreciation  of 
Greek  and  Latin  hterature  or  any  understanding  of 
Greek  or  Roman  life. 

The  effect  of  the  divisions  between  folk  and  literary 
languages  was  to  retard  the  development  of  the  peas- 
ants, to  preserve  large  rural  areas  at  an  intellectual 
level  far  below  that  of  the  rest  of  Europe. 

LINGUISTIC  REVIVALS 

Beginning  in  Wales  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  among  other  peoples  in  the  early  part  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  Europe  has  experienced  a  series 
of  revivals  of  the  folk  languages.  These  linguistic  re- 
vivals, which  have  invariably  preluded  every  national- 
istic movement  in  Europe,  have  not  been  confined  to 
any  one  country.  They  have  been  well-nigh  universal. 
They  took  place  in  France,  in  Spain,  in  Norway,  and 
in  Denmark.  There  have  been  the  Celtic  revivals  in 
Brittany,  in  Ireland,  in  Scotland,  and  in  Wales,  and 
there  have  been  similar  movements  in  the  so-called  op- 
pressed and  dependent  nationalities  of  middle  Europe. 
Finally,  among  the  Jews  of  eastern  Europe,  there  has 
been  the  movement  for  enlightenment  (the  Haskala 
movement),  which  has  made — quite  unintentionally  to 
be  sure — the  Judeo-German  dialect  '^Yiddish)  a  literary 
language. 

At  first  blush,  it  seems  strange  that  the  revivals  of 
the  folk  speech  should  have  come  at  a  time  when  the 
locomotive  and  the  telegraph  were  extending  commerce 
and  communication  to  the  uttermost  limits  of  the  earth, 
when  all  barriers  were  breaking  down,  and  the  steady 

33 


THE  IMMIGR.VNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

expansion  of  cosmopolitan  life  and  the  organization  of 
the  Great  Society,  as  Graham  Wallis  has  called  it, 
seemed  destined  to  banish  all  the  minor  languages, 
dialects,  and  obsolescent  forms  of  speech,  the  last  props 
of  an  international  provincialism,  to  the  limbo  of  for- 
gotten things.  The  competition  of  the  world  languages 
was  already  keen ;  all  the  little  and  forgotten  peoples  of 
Europe — the  Finns,  Letts,  Ukrainians,  Russo-Carpa- 
thians,  Slovaks,  Slovenians,  Croatians,  the  Catalonians 
of  eastern  Spain,  whose  language,  by  the  way,  dates 
back  to  a  period  before  the  Roman  Conquest,  the 
Czechs,  and  the  Poles — began  to  set  up  presses  and  es- 
tabhsh  schools  to  revive  and  perpetuate  their  several 
racial  languages. 

To  those  who,  at  this  time,  were  looking  forward  to 
world-organization  and  a  universal  peace  through  the 
medium  of  a  universal  language,  all  this  agitation  had 
the  appearance  of  an  anachronism,  not  to  say  a  heresy. 
It  seemed  a  deliberate  attempt  to  set  up  barriers,  where 
progress  demanded  that  they  should  be  torn  down. 
The  success  of  such  a  movement,  it  seemed,  must  be 
to  bring  about  a  more  complete  isolation  of  the  peoples, 
to  imprison  them,  so  to  speak,  in  their  own  languages, 
and  so  cut  them  off  from  the  general  culture  of  Europe. 

However,  the  situation  was  not,  and  is  not,  what  it 
seemed.  In  the  first  place,  many  of  the  minor  nation- 
alities are  "little"  only  when  measured  in  terms  of  the 
circulation  of  periodicals  printed  in  the  national  or  racial 
languages  which,  in  many  countries,  have  been  con- 
stantly and  systematically  suppressed.  The  population 
of  United  Poland,  which  is  included  among  the  minor 
nationalities,  has  been  estimated  at  21,000,000.  This 
is  larger  than  the  population  of  the  three  Scandinavian 
countries  of  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark. 

Most  of  the  language  revivals  are  in  early  stages  of 
development.    In  most  cases  the  revivalists  have  not 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS 

even  had  a  homogeneous  national  language  to  work 
with;  or,  if  they  had,  it  was  a  peasant  dialect  with  a 
limited  vocabulary.  The  shift  from  one  literary  me- 
dium to  another  naturally  causes  confusion,  and  this  is 
increased  when  the  new  language  must  be  developed, 
at  the  same  time,  into  an  instrument  capable  of  express- 
ing modern  thought.  Temporary  loss  of  efficiency  re- 
sults; but  eventually  the  literary  development  of  a 
vernacular  provides  an  intellectual  medium  for  classes 
who  previously  had  no  access  to  modern  thought  and 
culture. 

In  countries  where  there  are  wide  local  differences  in 
the  common  speech,  the  national  language,  if  it  may  be 
said  to  exist  at  all,  is  not  yet  completely  formed.  In 
Norway,  for  example,  the  peasants  and  the  common 
people  spoke  the  old  Norse  dialects.  The  educated 
people  spoke  a  hybrid  Danish-Norwegian.  A  national 
language  is  just  now  in  process  of  formation. 

Nationality  and  language  have  grown  apace  in  Norway. 
Prior  to  the  nineteenth  century  the  use  of  words  taken  from 
the  Norwegian  dialects  was  considered  bad  form.  The  grant- 
ing of  a  constitution  to  the  Norwegians,  in  1814,  created  a 
strong  feeling  of  nationality  throughout  the  land.  .  .  .  This 
spirit  was  reflected  in  active  research  for  every  form  of  Old 
Norse  culture.  Hitherto  despised  patois  words  were  forced 
into  prose  and  poetry  by  the  foremost  Norwegian  WTiters,  a 
movement  to  Norsefy  the  Riksmaal  thus  being  originated. 

As  a  result  of  these  endeavors  a  new  language,  the  "Lands- 
maal,"  or  fatherland  speech,  came  into  being  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  name  of  Ivor  Aasen  will 
always  be  linked  with  it.  This  gifted  peasant  devoted  his 
life  to  the  idea  of  a  renaissance  of  the  Old  Norse  language 
through  the  unification  of  the  cm-rent  peasant  dialects.  .  .  . 
Two  of  his  works — The  Grammar  of  the  Norwegian  Popular 
Language,  published  in  1848,  and  a  Dictionary  of  the  Nor- 
wegian Popular  Language,  m  1850 — virtually  established  a 
new  medium  of  speech  in  Norway.  .  . .  By  a  number  of  enact- 

35 


THE  rVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

ments  of  the  Storting,  the  study  of  the  new  national  tongue 
was  made  compulsory.  .  .  .  The  issue  between  Landsmaal  and 
Hiksmaal  being  closely  linked  with  nationalism  in  Norway, 
many  Norwegians  have  now  come  to  look  upon  the  Danish 
tongue  as  a  sign  of  former  vassalage.  New  Norse,  on  the 
other  hand,  embodies  the  newly  acquired  national  independ- 
ence. In  the  eyes  of  patriots  it  is  the  language  which  is  most 
closely  allied  to  the  saga  tongue  of  their  viking  ancestors. 
And  yet  it  is  stated  that  less  than  a  thousand  persons  in  Nor- 
way actually  use  New  Norse  in  their  conversation.  The  sup- 
planting of  Norwego-Danish  by  the  made-to-order  Landsmaal 
bids  fair  to  take  time.  But  the  process  of  welding  Norwegian 
dialects  into  a  single  national  language  is  going  on.  ...  In 
recent  j'ears  it  has  been  customary  to  publish  all  acts  of 
Parliament  both  in  Norwego-Danish  and  in  Landsmaal. ^ 

Similarly,  in  most  of  the  minor  nationalities  of  Eu- 
rope, great  changes  are  taking  place  in  both  the  spoken 
and  the  written  speech.  Undoubtedly  the  World  War, 
in  giving  independence  to  the  dependent  nationalities, 
has  given  a  new  impetus  to  these  changes. 

Among  Croatians  there  are,  generally  speaking,  as  many 
different  dialects  as  there  are  geographically  different  prov- 
inces. So  you  would  find  differences  in  dialect  in  Dalmatia, 
Istria,  Lika,  Slavonia,  Srijem,  Bosnia,  Herzegovina,  Zagorje, 
etc.  According  to  the  divergence  of  dialects  from  the  literary 
style,  there  are  three  main  groups  of  dialects — namely,  Sto- 
kavsko  narjecje  (dialect  using  the  word  "sto"  for  "what"); 
Kajavsko  narjecje  (using  "kaj"  for  "what");  and  Cakavsko 
narjecje  (using  "ca"  for  "what").  Then  come  subdivisions: 
Stokavsko  narjecje  is  divided  in  three  groups,  according  to 
the  difference  in  using  vowels  "e,"  "ije,"  or  "i"  in  one  word; 
for  example:  "Icpo"  (nice,  pretty)  is  WTitten  and  spoken  so 
in  "ekavsko  narjecje,"  "lijepo"  (again  the  same  word,  nice, 
pretty)  is  WTitten  so  in  *'' ijekavsko  narjecje";  while  "lipo'' 
(nice,  again!)  is  WTitten  and  spoken  in  "ikavsko  narjecje.'' 

^  Leon  Dominian,  Frontiers  of  Language  and  Nationality  in  Europe, 
pp.  98,  99,  100,  passim. 

36 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 

The  present  literary  type  in  use  is  "Stokavsko  ijekavsko  nar- 
jecje"  in  the  Croatian  press  and  books,  while  the  Serbs  use 
"Stokavsko  ekavsko  narjecje"  in  press  and  in  books.^ 

Rumania  and  Bulgaria  illustrate  the  generally  con- 
fused and  plastic  state  of  the  national  languages  of  the 
minor  nationalities  at  the  present  time. 

In  Rumania  the  present  literary  language  may  be 
said  to  date  from  1830,  when  Latin  became  the  domi- 
nant influence  in  the  culture  of  the  country.  It  was  at 
this  time  that  the  Rumanian  people  discovered  that 
they  were  related,  through  their  language  and  history, 
to  the  Latin  rather  than  the  Slavic  peoples.  Previous 
to  this  time  Rumanian  literature  had  been  dominated 
first  by  Slavonic  and  later  by  Greek  models.  All 
these  have  left  their  mark  upon  the  common  speech. 

There  are  three  dialects  in  the  kingdom  of  Rumania 
as  it  existed  before  the  war.  But  the  nationality  is 
represented  by  colonies  outside  the  formal  kingdom. 
Bessarabia,  the  Banat,  Bukovina,  and  Macedonia  each 
has  a  dialect  of  its  own,  and  Transylvania  has  several. 
The  Transylvanian  speech  is  affected  in  one  locality  by 
Magyar  words,  in  another  by  German  words,  and  in 
another  by  Polish  words. 

The  language  situation  is  still  further  confused  by 
the  necessity  for  forming  new  words  or  borrowing  ex- 
pressions from  other  languages  in  order  to  provide  tech- 
nical and  scientific  terms,  which  are  totally  lacking  in 
the  folk  speech.  This  gives  an  artificial  character  to 
the  written  language  which  still  further  emphasizes  the 
distinction  between  it  and  the  vernacular. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  difficult  to  establish 
the  reading  habit  among  the  masses  of  the  people.    As 


*  Francis  K.  Kolander,  editor  of  Zajednicar,  organ  of  Narodna 
Hrvatska  Zajednica  Society,  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania.  (Corre- 
spondence, October  27,  1919.) 

37 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

a  consequence,  the  press  is  usually  addressed  to  the 
educated  classes.  Only  in  Poland,^  as  far  as  this  in- 
quiry has  gone,  has  there  come  into  existence  a  press 
published  for  and  addressed  to  the  interests  and  under- 
standing of  the  peasant. 

In  so  far  as  these  literary  awakenings  have  made 
way  for  the  growth  of  a  vernacular  press,  which  brought 
the  masses  of  the  people  in  contact  with  modern  politi- 
cal ideas,  they  have  profound  reverberations  in  the  in- 
tellectual and  political  life  of  Europe. 

All  these  movements,  if  they  have  not  originated, 
have  gotten  their  support  mainly  from  the  rural  popu- 
lations. The  languages  which  these  movements  sought 
to  preserve  were,  for  the  main  part,  the  languages  of 
peasants.  For  the  peasant  people,  as  for  the  masses  of 
the  Jews  in  Russia,  Galicia,  and  Rumania,  they  have 
been  not  merely  revivals  of  language,  but  intellectual 
awakenings. 

There  was  in  Helsingfors  [at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century]  a  small  group  of  Swedish  academics  who  had  awak- 
ened to  the  life,  and,  above  all,  to  the  language  of  the  peasants. 
Rousseau's  conception  of  the  Noble  savage,  then  universally 
acclaimed  in  polite  circles  in  Scandinavia,  had  invested  with 
a  novel  glamour  the  ugly-looking  Mongols,  with  whom  most 
of  the  Helsingfors  intellectuals  had  grown  up.  Wolf's  Prole~ 
gomena  to  Homer,  a  book  whose  repercussions  outside  the 
philological  field  are  curiously  extensive  in  the  first  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  had  directed  attention  to  the 
possibility  of  the  preservation  of  a  national  literature  over 
long  periods  by  oral  tradition  without  the  use  of  writing. 
The  bearing  of  Wolf's  thesis  on  the  ancient  Finnish  folk 
songs  seized  the  imagination  of  the  Helsingfors  savant  Lonn- 
rot.  For  many  years  he  collected  them,  taking  them  down  in 
writing  from  the  moutlis  of  village  singers.  When  he  had 
collected  12,000  lines  he  arranged  them  in  runes,  or  books,  as 


Thomas  and  Znanieckl,  The  Polish  Peasant,  vol.  iv. 
38 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  IIVIMIGRANT  PRESS 

Pisistratus  is  said  to  have  arranged  the  Homeric  poems,  and 
in  1835  produced  them  as  the  Finnish  national  epic,  with  the 
title  "Kalewala."  Si  parva  licet  componere  magnis,  Lonnrot's 
pubhcation  of  the  Kalewala  was  to  the  Finnish  tongue  and 
people  what  the  Divine  Comedy  was  to  the  Italian  tongue  and 
Italy.  It  is  the  date  with  which  the  history  of  modern  Fin- 
land begins. 

But  the  national  epic  was  no  more  than  the  foundation  on 
which  the  fabric  of  the  national  language  had  to  be  built  up. 
The  vocabulary  of  Wainamoinen  and  the  beauteous  Aino,  as 
may  be  imagined,  contained  no  ready  equivalents  for  "pro- 
portional representation,"  "intensive  agriculture,"  and  other 
conceptions,  in  which  the  modern  Finn  is  largely  interested. 
The  expansion  of  the  vocabulary  took  time;  and  the  Finnish 
revivalists  found  that  it  was  not  possible  to  hasten  the  proc- 
ess, as  the  Czechs  at  the  same  period  were  finding  in  Bohemia, 
and  the  Gaelic  League  is  finding  in  Ireland  to-da\\  But  num- 
bers told.  Of  the  3,000,000  inhabitants  of  Finland  over 
2,500,000  are  Finns,  and  under  500,000  are  Swedes.  Once 
the  majority  btxiame  "tongue-conscious,"  it  was  boimd  to 
prevail  over  the  minority.  The  language  early  obtained 
political  recognition;  in  1863,  twenty-eight  years  after  the 
publication  of  the  Kalewala,  it  was  permitted  as  an  alterna- 
tive to  Swedish  in  the  courts  of  law  and  in  the  Diet;  in  1886 
it  was  allowe<l  for  official  correspondence;  and  in  1894  it  was 
admitted  to  the  Senate.  In  the  year  1915  there  were  274 
newspapers  in  Finnish,  103  in  Swedish,  and  7  with  Finnish 
and  Swedish  in  parallel  columns.* 

It  is  the  creation  of  a  literature  that  is  responsible 
for  the  extraordinary  intellectual  activity  of  the  Lettish 
people  in  very  recent  times.  The  expression  in  the  ver- 
nacular literature  of  the  ideas  and  culture  absorbed 
from  Russian,  German,  and  French  literature  has 
brought  the  masses  of  the  people,  to  such  an  extent, 
into  touch  with  the  intellectual  life  of  Europe  that  a 
recent  writer  could  say: 

^  Ralph  Butler,  The  New  Eastern  Europe,  1919,  pp.  8-10. 
39 


4 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

At  bottom,  the  malady  from  which  the  Letts  are  suffering 
is  a  disproportionate  growth  of  intclligenUia.  It  is  a  malady 
not  rare  in  the  case  of  nations  that  have  been  through  great 
oppression  and  are  struggling  to  be  free.  The  case  of  Armenia 
is  not  dissimilar.  It  is  a  malady  which  can  always  be  righted, 
so  long  as  the  natural  land  hunger  of  the  race  is  not  dead.^ 

The  intellectual  awakening,  which  in  recent  years 
has  manifested  itself  in  all  the  dark  corners  of  Europe, 
has  been  brought  about  not  through  direct  acquaint- 
ance with  the  great  cultural  languages  of  Europe,  but 
through  the  effect  of  the  literature  of  these  languages 
on  writing  in  the  mother  tongue,  the  language  of  the 
people. 

LANGUAGE   IDENTIFIED  WITH  NATIONALITY 

The  literary  revival  of  the  folk  speech  in  Europe  has 
invariably  been  a  prelude  to  the  revival  of  the  national 
spirit  in  subject  peoples.  The  sentiment  of  nationality 
has  its  roots  in  memories  that  attach  to  the  common 
possessions  of  the  people,  the  land,  the  religion,  and  the 
language,  but  particularly  the  language.  One  stanza 
of  a  Welsh  national  song  expresses  this  sentiment 
thus: 

"If  the  enemy  has  ravished  the  Land  of  Wales,  the  Lan- 
guage of  Wales  is  as  living  as  ever."  ("Os  Trelsiodd  y  gelyn 
fg  Ngivlad  dan  ei  droed,  mae  Hen  laith  y  Cymry  mar  fyw  ag 
erioedJ'Y 

Bohemian  patriots  have  a  saying,  "As  long  as  the 
language  lives,  the  nation  is  not  dead."  In  an  address 
in  1904  Jorgen  Levland,  who  was  afterward  Premier  of 
Norway,  in  a  plea  for  "freedom  with  self-government, 


^  Ralph  Butler,  The  New  Eastern  Europe,  1919,  p.  55. 
2  Rev.  Daniel  Jenkins  Williams,  The  Welsh  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  p. 
108. 

40 


I 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  IMMIGRAJ^;T  PRESS 

home,  land,  and  our  own  language,"  made  this  state- 
ment: 

"Political  freedom  is  not  the  deepest  and  greatest.  Great- 
er is  it  for  a  nation  to  preserve  her  intellectual  inheritance 
in  her  native  tongue."* 

The  revival  of  the  national  consciousness  in  the  sub- 
ject peoples  has  invariably  been  connected  with  the 
struggle  to  maintain  a  press  in  the  native  language. 
The  reason  is  that  it  was  through  the  medium  of  the 
national  press  that  the  literary  and  linguistic  revivals 
took  place.  Conversely,  the  efforts  to  suppress  the  ris- 
ing national  consciousness  took  the  form  of  an  effort 
to  censor  or  suppress  the  national  press.  There  were 
nowhere  attempts  to  suppress  the  spoken  language  as 
such.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  only  as  the  spoken 
language  succeeded  in  becoming  a  medium  of  literary 
expression  that  it  was  possible  to  preserve  it  under 
modern  conditions  and  present  in  this  way  the  national 
solidarity.  When  the  Lithuanians,  for  example,  were 
condemned  to  get  their  education  and  their  culture 
through  the  medium  of  a  language  not  their  own,  the 
effect  was  to  denationalize  the  literate  class  and  to  make 
its  members  aliens  to  their  own  people.  If  there  was  no 
national  press,  there  could  be  no  national  schools,  and, 
indeed,  no  national  church.  It  was  for  this  reason  that 
the  struggle  to  maintain  the  national  language  and  the 
national  culture  has  always  been  a  struggle  to  main- 
tain a  national  press. 

European  nationalists,  seeking  to  revive  among  their 
peoples  the  national  consciousness,  have  invariably 
sought  to  restore  the  national  speech,  to  purge  it  of 
foreign  idioms,  and  emphasize  every  mark  which  serves 


*  Leon  Dominian,  The  Frontiers  of  Language  and  Nationality  in 
Europe,  pp.  97-98. 

41 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

to  distinguish  it  from  the  languages  with  which  it  tended 
to  fuse. 

As  written  by  the  Nationalists,  Ukrainian  differs  consider- 
ably in  appearance  from  Russian.  It  discards  six  of  the 
Russian  letters,  and  uses  three  which  Russian  has  not  got. 
The  Nationalists  have  purposely  made  the  orthography  as 
different  from  the  Russian  as  possible.  They  have  created  a 
new-Ukrainian  literary  language,  from  which  they  have  ex- 
cluded as  far  as  possible  all  Great  Russian  technical  terms. 
But  though  a  considerable  literature  now  exists  in  this  lan- 
guage, Ukrainian  may  be  said  to  be  still  in  a  fluid  state. 
The  Russophils  in  Galicia  employ  a  peculiar  mixture  of  Rus- 
sian, Ukrainian,  and  Church  Slavonic,  with  a  semi-GlagoIitic 
script;  and  are  to  all  seeming  as  much,  or  as  little,  understood 
by  their  peasant  audiences  as  the  Nationalists  with  their 
new-Ukrainian  diction.' 

In  Europe,  before  the  rise  of  national  consciousness 
among  the  dependent  races,  the  superior  and  the  edu- 
cated classes  not  infrequently  preferred  to  forget  their 
racial  origin  in  order  to  identify  themselves  with  the 
ruling  classes  of  the  dominant  race.  Thus  Kosciusko, 
the  Polish  national  hero,  was  a  Lithuanian,  and  Kossuth, 
the  Hungarian  patriot,  was  a  Slovak.  With  the  rise  of 
nationalism,  however,  all  this  changed.  The  struggle  to 
preserve  the  folk  speech  and  make  it  a  literary — i.e.,  a 
written  as  well  as  a  spoken  language,  assumed  the  char- 
acter of  a  life-and-death  struggle  between  rival  civiliza- 
tions. The  suppression  of  the  racial  speech  came  to 
mean  the  suppression  of  the  racial  individuality.  The 
Lithuanian  who  permitted  himself  to  be  Polonized,  the 
Slovak  who  allowed  himself  to  be  Magyarized,  were 
regarded  among  their  own  people  as  renegades.  Like 
the  Jew  who  consented  to  baptism,  or  the  man  with 
Negro  blood  who  passed  for  white,  the  denationalized 

1  Ralph  Butler,  Tlie  New  Eastern  Europe,  1919,  pp.  133-134. 
42 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  BLMIGRANT  PRESS 

individual  was  in  danger  of  being  regarded  as  an  apos- 
tate, an  outcast,  among  his  own  people. 

Among  the  Ruthenians  in  Galicia  and  in  Hungary, 
nationalist  writers  have  frequently  complained  that  the 
educated  classes  are  not  interested  in  the  enlightenment 
of  the  masses,  and  that,  far  from  supporting  the  cause 
of  Ruthenian  nationalism,  they  have  permitted  them- 
selves, at  least  in  Hungary,  to  be  denationalized. 

The  Ruthenian  intellectuals,  in  their  terror,  do  not  balk  at 
anything  which  will  make  themselves  appear  good  Magyars. 
They  even  outdo  the  Magyars  themselves  in  their  demonstra- 
tions of  patriotism.  The  result  is  that  they  have  become 
renegades  and  the  worst  enemies  of  their  own  people.  They 
are  moral  degenerates,  sybarites,  flatterers  of  the  Hungarians, 
and  it  is  useless  to  try  to  inculcate  in  them  any  idea,  or  inspire 
them  with  any  noble  sentiment.  They  are  no  longer  in  touch 
with  their  own  people.  They  despise  them;  they  avoid  all 
contact  with  the  Ruthenian  intellectuals  of  Galicia,  and  if 
conversation  between  them  were  necessary  it  would  be  carried 
on  in  German. 1 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  very  likely  to  be  this  same 
intellectual  who  later  returned  to  become  the  leader  in 
the  nationalistic  movements  to  emancipate  the  race,  to 
educate  the  masses,  to  re-establish  the  nationahty  on 
a  freer  and  more  independent  basis. 

Acceptance  of  the  standards  and  culture  of  an  alien 
language  group,  under  the  circumstances  in  which  it 
has  taken  place  in  many  European  countries,  puts  upon 
one's  own  a  stigma  of  inferiority  that  embitters  the  for- 
eigner and  eventually  turns  him  back  to  his  native 
tradition  and  language.  The  transition  from  one  lan- 
guage group  to  another  involves,  under  these  circum- 
stances, a  conflict  of  loyalties,  and  creates  in  the  mind 

^  Y.  Fedorchuk,  "La  Question    des    Nationalites  en    Autriche- 

Hongrie:  Les  Ruthenes  de  Hongrie,"  in  Annales  des  Nationalites, 
1915,  vol.  iii,  pp.  5£-56. 

4  43 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

of  the  individual  what  William  James  describes  as  "a 
divided  self."  The  fact  that  a  Ruthenian  permits  him- 
self to  become  Magyarized,  a  Lithuanian  to  become 
Polonized,  or  a  Pole  to  become  Germanized,  implies 
acquiescence  in  all  the  stupid  forms  of  coercion  and 
humiliation  which  are  employed  consciously  or  un- 
consciously by  the  dominant  nationality  to  carry 
through  the  process  of  denationalization.  Eventually, 
when  the  rebound  comes,  it  is  the  more  violent  as  the 
suppression  of  the  natural  feelings  have  been  more 
complete. 

Doctor  Kudirka  had  been  profoundly  influenced  by  Polish 
nationalism  at  the  College  of  Mariapolis.  .  .  .  He  permitted 
himself  to  be  still  further  Polonized  while  he  was  studying  at 
the  University  of  Warsaw.  It  was  the  fate  of  all  the  Lithu- 
anians of  that  period,  and  he  made  no  exception.  But  sud- 
denly he  changed  and,  from  being  an  incipient  Pole,  he  be- 
came an  ardent  Lithuanian  patriot.  This  is  the  way  he  de- 
scribes his  conversion:  "At  the  time  I  was  completing  my 
studies  at  college,  I  was  convinced  that  an  intellectual  person 
could  not  be  a  Lithuanian.  I  felt  this  way  aU  the  more  as 
everyone  despised  the  Lithuanians. 

"I  preferred  to  tell  anj'one  who  asked  me  my  nationality 
that  I  was  a  Lithuanian-Pole  because,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
Lithuania  and  Poland  had  been  historically  united.  I  con- 
sidered myself  then  as  Polish  by  adoption.  This  seemed  a 
partial  compensation  for  the  mistake  of  being  Lithuanian. 
What  a  hypocritical  interpretation  of  the  facts!  Neverthe- 
less, it  was  sufticient  for  me  as  it  was  for  others  like  me,  all 
the  more  as  nothing  had  occurred  to  compel  me  to  really 
think  about  the  matter. 

"It  was  with  such  a  conception  of  my  nationality  that  I 
entered  the  Universitj'  [of  Warsaw],  where  there  were  very  few 
Lithuanians,  and  even  those  who  were  there  were  not  knoT\'n 
among  themselves.  My  feelings  for  Lithuania,  in  short,  grew 
less  and  less. 

"During  my  vacation  I  returned  to  Lithuania.  A  priest 
related  to  me  one  day  that  a  Lithuanian  journal  was  soon  to 

44 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 

appear.  He  showed  me  verses  he  had  vrritten  in  Lithuanian, 
and  a  letter  of  Bessanavicius  concerning  the  publication  of 
the  journal.  I  read  the  letter.  Something  touched  my  heart, 
but  the  sentiment  passed.  Child's  play,  I  thought  to  myself, 
in  Polish.  From  that  moment  thoughts  in  regard  to  Lithuania 
visited  my  mind  more  frequently,  but  my  heart  remained 
cold  and  indifferent  to  everything  which  touched  Lithuania 
and  the  Lithuanians. 

"Six  months  elapsed ;  I  received  the  first  number  of  Austra; 
I  looked  at  the  first  page,  and  there  I  saw  Bessanavicius. 
'Apostle,'  I  thought  at  once,  but  this  time  in  Lithuanian. 
Suddenly  I  began  to  turn  the  pages  of  the  journal,  and  then 
I  do  not  remember  anything  more  distinctly.  I  remember 
only  that  I  arose  and  bowed  my  head,  not  daring  to  raise  my 
ej'es.  ...  It  seemed  that  I  heard  the  voice  of  Lithuania  accus- 
ing me  and  pardoning  me  at  the  same  time:  'Misguided  man, 
where  are  you  at  this  present  moment.''* 

"Immediately,  I  felt  my  heart  tighten;  I  sank  into  my 
chair  and  began  weeping  like  a  child.  I  regretted  the  time 
that  I  had  lost  when  I  had  done  nothing  for  Lithuania,  time 
that  I  could  never  recover.  I  blushed  for  shame  that  I  had 
persevered  so  long  in  my  misguided  course.  .  .  .  Then  my 
heart  filled  with  new  pride  and  new  energy.  It  seemed  as  if 
I  had  suddenly  expanded  and  the  world  had  grown  smaller. 
I  felt  as  powerful  as  a  giant;  I  felt  that  I  had  recovered  my 
Lithuanian  nationiJity." 

It  is  thus  that  Kudirka  relates  his  conversion  to  Lithu- 
anianism,  which  he  characterizes  as  a  second  birth  and  con- 
siders the  most  important  moment  of  his  life.' 

For  their  part,  the  "superior"  races — that  is,  the  de- 
scendants of  the  conquering  peoples — have  viewed  the 
strange  attachment  of  the  "inferior"  races  to  their 
strange  language  with  no  adequate  understanding  of 
the  deep,  natural  unrest  which  a  dawning  race-con- 
sciousness, a  desire  for  freedom  and  recognition,  have 
awakened  in  them.     This  attitude  is  reflected  in  the 

1  Jean  Pelissier,  Lcs  Principaux  Artisans  de  la  Renaissance  Nationale 
Lituanienne,  note  on  Doctor  Kudirka,  pp.  48-50. 

45 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

following  passage  from  an  autobiography  (unpublished) 
of  a  young  woman  immigrant  of  Finnish  nationality 
but  of  Swedish  parentage: 

.  .  .  My  home  was  very  Swedish.  We  spoke  the  Swedish 
language  and  read  Swedish  authors,  played  Swedish  music, 
danced  Swedish  dances.  When  I  say  "Swedish"  I  do  not 
necessarily  mean  that  all  this  had  been  directly  imported 
from  Sweden;  much  of  it  had  been  written  on  Finnish  soil  by 
men  and  women  born  in  Finland. 

What  I  want  to  emphasize  is  that  my  upbringing  was 
thoroughly  Swedish.  I  came  into  contact  with  Finns  all  the 
time.  My  playmates  were  sometimes  Finns;  the  maids  and 
the  hired  men  were  Finns.  So  I  learned  the  Finnish  language 
as  well  as  Swedish.  But  I  never  regarded  it  very  highly. 
To  me  it  was  the  language  of  the  maids  and  the  hired  men — 
of  the  peasants.  It  is  hard  to  describe  the  curious  attitude 
that  I  had — and  have — toward  the  Finns.  I  was  very  fond 
of  some  of  them,  and  I  was  willing  to  use  their  language  to  a 
certain  extent.  Sometimes  I  even  felt  a  passionate  patriotism 
that  included  the  Finns  as  well  as  the  Swedes  of  my  country'. 
But  all  the  time  there  was  a  feeling  of  superiority,  that  I 
belonged  to  a  better  race,  and  was  different  from  them.  As 
I  grew  older  this  feeling  was  emphasized  because  of  the  Fin- 
nish attitude  toward  us  Swedes.  It  became  absolute  con- 
tempt. By  the  time  I  left  Finland  I  had  no  use  at  all  for  either 
the  Finns  or  their  language,  because  of  their  behavior  politi- 
cally. I  felt  that  they  had  betrayed  the  country — as  no  doubt 
some  of  them  had  done.^ 

Between  the  "dependent"  nationalities  and  the  peo- 
ple they  had  come  to  regard  as  their  oppressors,  there 
has  been  not  merely  the  difference  of  language,  but  a 
difference  in  social  condition  and  status.  The  masses 
of  the  people  of  the  dependent  nationalities  have  been 
peasants.  The  peoples  against  whom  they  were  in 
rebellion  have  been  city  folk.  The  people  of  the  cities 
not  only  have  had  all  the  outward  marks  of  an  intrinsic 

*  Autobiography.     (Manuscript.) 
46 


BACKGROUNDS  OF  THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 

superiority,  but  they  have  cherished  at  the  same  time 
a  deep  inner  conviction  of  this  superiority. 

The  nationalist  movement,  the  struggle  of  the  de- 
pendent peoples  for  independence,  by  a  natural  course 
of  events  has  become  involved  with  the  economic  and 
class  struggle,  because  everywhere  the  racial  conflict 
and  the  class  conflict  involved  the  same  parties.  In 
Courland,  for  example,  if  the  landlord  was  a  German, 
the  tenant  would  be  a  Lett,  and  the  government  official 
a  Russian.  In  Austria,  if  the  capitalist  class  has  been 
mainly  German,  the  proletariat  has  been  mainly  Slav. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  natural  and,  on  the 
whole,  wholesome  antagonisms  of  race  and  class  have 
been  greatly  embittered.  In  Courland,  where  the  situa- 
tion is  comparable  with  that  in  Finland,  the  racial  ani- 
mosities are  of  such  long  standing  and  so  well  estab- 
lished that  they  have  found  expression  in  the  folk  songs 
of  the  people. 

A  recent  writer,  M.  Doumergue,  has  been  at  pains  to  illus- 
trate from  the  Lett  folk  songs  the  bitterness  which  prevails. 
It  is  no  difficult  task.  One  song — it  may  be  cited  here,  as  it 
is  not  among  those  given  by  Doumergue — runs: 

"Oh,  poor  German  guest! 
What  wouldst  thou  in  our  wretched  hut? 
Thou  canst  not  stay  in  the  yard. 
For  in  the  yard  is  wind  or  rain. 
Thou  canst  not  stay  within, 
For  within  is  smoke. 
Listen!     I  will  advise  thee! 
Go  to  the  bottom-most  place  of  Hell, 
Where  the  Devil  makes  his  fire. 
No  rain  there,  German!     No  smoke  there!" 

It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  a  more  vi\nd  expression  of 
race  hatred;  and  what  truer  expression  than  folk  song  of  the 
soul  of  a  race?  ^ 

1  Ralph  Butler,  The  New  Eastern  Europe,  1919,  pp.  36-37. 

47 


THE  BIMIGRiVNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

All  the  unrest  which  the  economic  and  social  changes 
of  the  nineteenth  century  had  aroused  among  the  "op- 
pressed and  dependent  nationalities"  of  Europe  has 
been  gradually  focused  in  the  struggle  to  raise  the  folk 
languages,  the  languages  spoken  by  the  peasants,  to 
the  dignity  of  a  literary  medium,  the  language  of  the 
schools  and  of  the  press. 


I 


ni 

THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMIL.\TION 

National  consciousness  is  inevitably  accentuated  by 
immigration.  Loneliness  and  an  unfamiliar  environ- 
ment turn  the  wanderer's  thoughts  and  affections  back 
upon  his  native  land.  The  strangeness  of  the  new  sur- 
roundings emj)hasizes  his  kinship  with  those  he  has 
left. 

This  general  effect  is  intensified  in  those  whose  race 
is  still  struggling  for  political  recognition.  The  most 
able  members  of  such  an  immigrant  group  arc  apt  to 
be  men  exiled  for  their  patriotic  activities.  In  the  new 
country  they  have  more  freedom  to  work  for  their  cause 
than  they  had  under  a  hostile  government  at  home, 
and  they  naturally  encourage  their  fellow  immigrants 
to  help  them. 

NATIONALISM   NATURAL   AMONG   IMMIGRANTS 

It  is  probably  not  a  mere  coincidence  that  nationalist 
movements  have  so  frequently  originated  and  been  sup- 
ported from  abroad.  In  many  cases  national  conscious- 
ness has  manifested  itself  first  of  all  in  the  exile,  the 
refugee,  and  the  immigrant.  When  schools  in  the  native 
language  were  closed  in  Europe,  they  were  opened  in 
America.  When  the  vernacular  press  was  being  slowly 
extirpated  by  a  hostile  censorship  in  the  old  country, 
it  flourished  so  much  the  more  in  the  new,  where  the 
government  did  not  seem  to  know  that  it  existed. 

49 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

The  Lithuanians  refer  to  the  United  States  as  "the 
second  birthplace  of  the  nationality,"  But  the  same 
thing  might  be  said  by  the  Irish  and  some  others. 

By  the  middle  of  the  last  century  Lithuania  had  been 
so  completely  Polonized  that  the  native  speech  had 
ceased  to  be  the  language  of  the  literate  classes.  It  was 
not  until  1883  that  the  "Young  Lithuanians,"  as  the 
nationalist  party  was  called,  published  their  first  maga- 
zine, Aiizra  (Dawn),  But  between  1834  and  1895  no 
less  than  thirty-four  Lithuanian  periodicals  were  pub- 
lished in  America. 

The  movement  for  the  revival  of  the  Irish  language 
may  be  said  to  have  had  its  origin  in  Boston.  At  any 
rate,  the  Phil-Celtic  Society,  organized  there  in  1873, 
had  been  in  existence  for  three  years  before  it  attracted 
the  attention  of  Irish  scholars  in  Dublin,  and  thus  led 
to  the  formation  in  1876  of  the  Society  for  the  Preserva- 
tion of  the  Irish  Language,  since  succeeded  by  the  more 
popular  Gaelic  League. 

When  the  Magyars  closed  the  Slovak  gymnasiums, 
and  suppressed  the  Matica — a  literary,  linguistic,  and 
educational  society,  which  had  been  the  center  of  the 
nationalist  movement — schools  were  established  in 
America,  with  the  result  that  Slovak  peasants  learned 
in  America  what  they  were  not  permitted  to  do  ia 
Hungary — to  read  their  mother  tongue. 

EFFORTS   TO   PREVENT   ASSIMILATION 

The  nationalistic  tendencies  of  the  immigrants  find 
their  natural  expression  and  strongest  stimulus  in  the 
national  societies,  the  Church,  and  the  foreign-language 
press — the  institutions  most  closely  connected  with  the 
preservation  of  the  racial  languages.  In  these  the  immi- 
grant feels  the  home  ties  most  strongly;  they  keep  him 
in  touch  with  the  political  struggle  at  home  and  even 

50 


THE  lAIMIGK^T  PRESS  AND  ASSIIMILATION 

give  him  opportunities  to  take  part  in  it.  Both  con- 
sciously and  unconsciously  they  might  be  expected  to 
center  the  immigrants'  interests  and  activities  in  Eu- 
rope and  so  keep  him  apart  from  American  life. 

The  majority  of  Lithuanians  did  not  emigrate  to  the  United 
States  with  the  idea  of  staying  there  definitely.  They  came 
in  order  to  make  money  and  to  return  as  soon  as  possible  to 
their  own  country,  where  many  of  them  became  landowners. 
Thus,  it  has  come  about  in  recent  years  that  considerable 
territory  has  been  returned  into  the  hands  of  the  Lithuanians 
who  had  been  dispossessed,  and  the  money  earned  in  America 
has  served  to  increase  the  fortune  of  the  mother  country. 
The  other  Lithuanians  are  obliged  to  remain  in  America 
while  they  are  waiting  for  change  in  the  actual  political 
government  in  Russia  in  order  to  return  to  their  native 
land. 

Up  to  the  present,  Lithuanian  emigrants  to  the  United 
States  have  not  lost  their  sentiment  for  their  nationality. 
Thanks  to  their  religion  which  unites  them  in  their  own 
churches,  which  are,  in  a  way,  their  communal  houses,  genuine 
nurseries  of  patriotism.  And  thanks,  also,  to  the  numerous 
organizations  which  bring  them  together  and  establish  rela- 
tions between  different  groups,  even  those  that  are  most 
isolated.  In  tlie  great  cities,  where  the  Lithuanians  form 
compact  masses  and  are  well  organized,  they  are  better  de- 
fended against  assimilation;  but  fortunately  the  patriotic 
societies,  the  number  of  which  is  constantly  increasing,  have 
extended  their  field  of  action  to  all  the  colonies  and  have 
spread  among  our  fellow  countrymen  the  love  of  the  far-away 
homeland  and  the  cult  of  the  national  traditions.  The  press, 
also,  is  a  powerfully  strong  bond  between  all  the  Lithuanians 
scattered  about  on  the  American  soil.  The  Lithuanians  in 
America  edit  a  score  of  papers.  We  may  cite  as  among  the 
most  important:  Lietuva,  Vicnybe  Lietuvnilcxi,  Draugas, 
Kathalikas  (Chicago),  Darhininku  Viltis  (Shenandoah,  Penn- 
sylvania), Tevijne.^ 

^  J.  G.,  "Les  Colonies  Lituaniennes  aux  £tats-Unis,"  in  Annates 
des  Nationalites,  1913,  vol.  ii,  pp.  231-232. 

51 


THE  i:mmigiiant  press  and  its  control 

The  Church  lias  proved  an  effective  medium  for 
either  the  assimilation  of  peoples  or  their  isolation,  ac- 
cording to  the  purposes  of  the  clergy.  Dominant  races 
have  used  their  control  of  a  church  with  its  missions 
and  its  schools  to  introduce  and  establish  their  languages 
and  cultiu-es  among  primitive  and  subject  peoples.  A 
people's  own  church,  however,  has  always  been  a  con-  , 
servative  influence.  It  is  in  the  religious  rituals  that 
the  ancient  language  forms  are  longest  retained.  The 
Arabic  language,  the  sacred  language  of  Mohammedan- 
ism, has  preserved  its  purity  more  completely  than 
other  languages  because  in  childhood  the  Moslems  are 
made  to  learn  large  portions  of  the  Koran  by  heart, 
and  if  a  single  vowel  is  mispronounced  it  is  regarded  as 
an  act  of  infidelity.  The  following  anecdote  illustrates 
to  what  extent  religion  may  conserve  speech: 

I  was  one  day  surprised  by  seeing  a  tall,  elderly  black  man 
making  extracts  from  a  theological  work  in  the  Eledivial 
library  at  Cairo.  He  told  me  he  came  from  Sakoto  (on  the 
Kwora  River),  and  that,  although  his  people  had  a  distinct 
language,  they  were  all  taught  Arabic  in  their  boyhood.  He 
certiiinly  spoke  the  purest  and  most  perfect  Arabic  that  I 
ever  heard  spoken,  using  all  the  vowels  and  inflexions  with  the 
utmost  precision.' 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  among  the  Lithuanians, 
at  least,  the  Church  has  appeared  in  a  double  role  as  a 
nationalizing  and  a  denationalizing  influence.  In  Eu- 
rope the  Poles  seem  to  have  used  their  superior  position 
in  the  Cathohc  church  to  Polonize  the  Lithuanians,  and 
that,  too,  at  a  time  when  the  Russian  government  was 
making  efforts,  rather  desultory  and  unsuccessful,  to  be 
sure,  to  Russianize  both  the  Lithuanians  and  Poles. 


1  E.  T.  Rogers,  "Dialects  of  Colloquial  Arabic,"  in  Journal  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society,  1879,  p.  366. 

52 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSE\IEL\TION 

The  Polish  nationalists  have  found  powerful  support  in  the 
Catliolic  clergy.  Those  of  the  diocese  of  Vilua,  with  the 
bishop  at  their  head,  have  been  particularly  serviceable,  and 
have  been  more  occupied  in  Polonizing  their  parisliioners  than 
m  teaching  them  the  Christian  faith  and  Christian  morality. 
For  this  purpose  all  means  are  gootl.  The  pulpit,  the  con- 
fessional, are  transformed  by  the  clergj'  into  schools  of  the 
Polish  language.  For  a  long  time  the  Polish  bishops  of  Vilna 
have  employed  singular  tactics  in  tlie  nomination  of  the 
priests.  They  assigned  to  the  Lithuanian  parishes  priests 
who  spoke  only  Polish.  Instead  of  taking  the  trouble  of 
learning  the  language  of  their  parishioners,  the  priests  forced 
the  Polish  language  upon  their  congregations.^ 

In  America,  on  the  other  hand,  such  of  the  Catholic 
clergy  as  are  Lithuanian  nationalists  have  been  strug- 
gling with  apparent  success  to  win  back  to  the  Lithua- 
nian cause  those  members  of  their  race  who  had  already 
become  Polonized  and  were,  apparently,  not  only  con- 
tent, but  proud  that  they  were  regarded  as  members  of 
a  race  of  higher  cultural  status  than  their  own. 

The  most  powerful  bond  which  unites  immigrants  of  the 
same  nationality  in  a  foreign  country  is  that  represented  by 
religion  and  the  Church.  Pious  people,  like  the  Poles,  Slo- 
vaks, Litliuanians,  and  others,  carry  with  them  to  the  land 
across  the  sea  their  own  profound  religious  sentiment.  In 
their  churches  they  feel  at  home.  The  church  is  a  little  comer 
of  the  distant  fatherland.  It  is  thus  in  America  that  religion 
has  become  the  most  powerful  source  of  resistance  against 
Americanization  (assimilation). 

There  was  a  time  when  Lithuanians  were  an  exception  to 
this  rule.  At  the  time  of  the  first  emigration  of  Lithuanians 
to  the  United  States,  in  1869,  the  national  revival  had  not 
made  its  appearance  among  the  people.  The  Lithuanians 
came  to  America  and  built  churches  for  the  Poles.  It  is  a 
curious  thing,  but  the  Lithuanians  were  Polonized  in  America 

*  A.  Jakstas,  "Lituaniens  et  Polonais,"  in  Annales  des  Nationalites, 
1915,  vol.  iii,  p.  214. 

53 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

in  their  owii  churches.  Many  of  the  new  arrivals  from  the 
banks  of  the  Niemen,  instead  of  learning  English  in  America 
and  adapting  themselves  to  the  conditions  of  the  new  coun- 
try, wasted  their  energy  in  learning  Polish  and  acquiring 
Polish  customs.  Even  in  the  parish  schools,  poorly  conducted 
as  they  were,  Lithuanian  parents  insisted  that  their  children 
should  be  instructed  in  Polish.  Nevertheless,  this  anomalous 
situation  has  ceased  to  exist.  It  took  a  good  many  years  to 
persuade  these  ignorant  people  that  Lithuanians  are  and 
ought  to  remain  Lithuanians,  and  that  it  is  a  crime  on  their 
part  to  serve  the  purposes  and  plans  of  another  nation  than 
their  owti.  That  work  of  persuasion  has  not  yet  ceased.  It 
is  suflBcIent  to  mention  here  that  in  Pennsylvania  there  still 
exists  a  little  colony,  by  name  of  Ridge,  where  the  Lithuanians 
call  themselves  Poles.  Opposed  to  the  usage  of  the  Lithuanian 
language,  they  steadily  insist  that  their  church  shall  be  con- 
ducted by  Polish  priests  who  do  not  know  a  word  of  Lithua- 
nian. .  .  . 

The  Lithuanians  rarely  have  anything  in  common  with 
Poles.  They  form  distinct  organizations  and  construct  sep- 
arate churches  and  schools.  At  present  there  are  eighty 
Lithuanian  churches  in  the  United  States  and  they  all  are 
strong  fortresses  and  guardians  of  the  nationality  of  the 
Lithuanians  of  America.  They  maintain  twenty-two  primary 
schools,  in  which  their  children  learn  English  and  at  the  same 
time  their  mother  tongue.  Five  of  these  are  directed  by 
Polish  sisters,  one  by  French  sisters,  and  the  others  bj^  Eng- 
lish sisters.  But  the  teachers  have  learned  the  language  of 
their  scholars  and  teach  the  children  Lithuanian.  Four  other 
schools  are  directed  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Casimir.  It  is  thanks 
to  the  church  and  the  school  that  many  hundred  thousands 
of  Lithuanians  have  not  been  absorbed  in  the  great  nation. 
As  long  as  the  Lithuanians  construct  and  maintain  their 
churches  and  their  schools,  the  name  and  nationality  of  the 
Lithuanians  will  be  maintained  in  the  country  of  George 
Washington.* 


*A.  Kaupas,  "L'figlise  et  les  Lituaniens  aux  fitats-Unis  d'Am^ 
rique,"  in  Annates  des  Naiionalites,  1913,  vol.  ii,  pp.  233-S234. 

54 


THE  BIMIGR/VNT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

The  immigrant  press  serves  at  once  to  preserve  the 
foreign  languages  from  disintegrating  into  mere  immi- 
grant dialects,  hyphenated  English,  and  to  maintain 
contact  and  understanding  between  the  home  countries 
and  their  scattered  members  in  every  part  of  the  United 
States  and  America.  These  functions  of  the  press 
naturally  tend  to  preserve  the  national  feeling;  but 
beyond  this  there  is  an  intrinsic  connection  between  the 
desire  to  preserve  national  identity  and  the  written 
mother  tongue.  This  feeling  is  most  defined  among 
members  of  the  "oppressed"  races,  who  have  identified 
their  struggle  for  political  recognition  with  their  struggle 
for  their  own  press.  However,  it  has  been  observed 
that  nationalism  is  never  in  effective  existence  without 
a  free  press.  Under  these  circumstances  it  is  intelligible 
that  foreign-language  newspapers  in  America  should 
frequently  be  inspired  by  nationalist  motives  and  that 
their  editors  should  seek  to  use  the  press  as  a  means  of 
preventing  assimilation. 

During  the  past  generation  many  thousands  of  Slovak 
peasants  have  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  carrying  with 
them  feelings  of  bitterness  and  resentment  toward  the  au- 
thorities of  their  native  land.  They  speedily  learn  to  profit 
by  the  free  institutions  of  their  adopted  country,  and  to-day 
the  400,000  Slovaks  of  America  possess  a  national  culture 
and  organization  which  present  a  striking  contrast  to  the 
cramped  development  of  their  kinsmen  in  Hungary.  There 
are  more  Slovak  newspapers  in  America  than  in  Hungary; 
but  the  Magyars  seek  to  redress  the  balance  by  refusing  to 
deliver  these  American  journals  through  the  Hungarian  post 
office.  Everywhere  among  the  emigrants  leagues,  societies, 
and  clubs  flourish  undisturbed — notably  the  American  Slovak 
League  {Narodnie  Slovens ky  Spolok),  the  Catholic  Jednota 
(Unity),  and  the  women's  league,  Zivena.  These  societies  do 
all  in  their  power  to  awaken  Slovak  sentiment,  and  contribute 
materially  to  the  support  of  the  Slovak  press  in  Hungary.^ 

^  Seton- Watson,  Racial  Problems  in  Hungary,  1908,  pp.  20i2-203. 
55 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Among  the  other  foreign-language  papers  published 
in  the  United  States  are  eight  in  the  Arabic  language. 
The  Syrian  population  here,  to  which  this  press  is  ad- 
dressed, is  not  large,  and  would  hardly  support  such 
a  variety  of  organs,  except  for  the  circulation  of  these 
papers  abroad,  particularly  in  Turkey.  In  his  auto- 
biography, Abraham  Rihbany,  now  pastor  of  a  Uni- 
tarian church  in  Boston,  who  at  one  time  edited  the 
Koiokab  America  (Star  of  America),  the  first  Arabic 
newspaper  in  the  United  States,  tells  how  this  foreign 
circulation  made  the  paper  a  force  against  assimilation. 
He  had  taken  a  lively  interest  in  the  political  campaign 
of  189'2,  when  Cleveland  defeated  Harrison  for  the 
presidency.  This  interest  led  him  to  urge  his  Syrian 
readers  to  become  Americans- 
It  was  my  first  great  incentive  to  ask  questions  about  and 
to  idealize  the  possibilities  of  American  citizenship.  Again  I 
was  moved  with  stronger  conviction  than  ever  to  renew  my 
appeals  in  the  Koiokab  to  my  fellow  Syrians  to  drink  the 
nobler  spirit  and  adopt  the  customs  of  free  America. 

Contrary,  however,  to  my  most  confident  expectations,  the 
proprietor  looked  upon  my  policy  with  disfavor.  He  con- 
tended that  my  bugle  calls  to  the  Syrians  to  follow  the  path 
of  American  civilization  were  bound  to  arouse  the  suspicion 
of  the  Turkish  authorities.  The  Kowlcah,  he  said,  was  meant 
to  be  loyal  to  the  Sultan,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  because 
the  majority  of  its  subscribers  were  residents  of  Turkey.  If 
Abdul  Hamid  should  for  any  reason  stop  the  circulation  of 
the  paper  in  his  empire  our  whole  enterprise  must  cease  to 
be.  The  publisher  also  protested  against  any  show  of  an- 
tagonism to  Turkey  in  our  columns,  chiefly  because  his  brother 
held  office  in  one  of  the  Turkish  provinces,  and  he  had  written 
to  our  office  that  the  least  manifestation  of  disloyalty  on  our  part 
might  cost  him  not  only  his  office,  but  his  liberty  as  a  citizen. 
That  was  a  severe  disappointment  to  me.  The  hand  of  the 
Turk  was  still  heavy  on  me,  even  on  Pearl  Street,  New  York.^ 

1  Abraham  Mitrie  Rilibany,  A  Far  Journey,  1914,  pp.  239-240. 
56 


THE  EVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSBIILATION 

The  French  Canadians  in  the  Province  of  Quebec 
have  maintained  a  long,  bitter,  and  not  always  success- 
ful, struggle  to  preserve  their  language  against  the  in- 
vasion of  English  idioms  and  English  words.  With  the 
invasion  of  New  England  by  French-Canadian  laborers, 
this  struggle  has  been  transferred  to  American  soil.  In 
this  country  the  French  press  seems  to  have  played  a 
leading  role  in  the  struggle.  There  was  a  time  when 
the  Canadian  immigrants  were  "trembling,"  as  Mr. 
Belisle,  historian  of  the  Franco- American  press,  puts  it, 
"upon  the  abyss  of  assimilation."  It  was  even  true, 
according  to  Mr.  Lacroix,  editor  of  Le  Public  Canadien, 
that  the  younger  generation  seemed  almost  ashamed  of 
their  native  language. 

The  result  has  been  that  indifference,  mingled  with  a  little 
jealousy  against  the  people  of  their  o^vti  blood,  has  led  them 
[Canadian  Frenchl  to  yield  to  the  stranger  and  caused  the 
loss  of  that  preponderance  upon  those  by  whom  they  are 
surrounded  that  they  should  always  seek  to  conserve.  The 
moment  they  cease  to  sp>eak  their  mother  tongue  they  lose 
their  rallying  point  and  sense  of  association.  As  soon  as  their 
influence  weakens  they  see  day  by  day  their  nationality  fall- 
ing in  ruins.  The  time  when  they  were  about  to  succumb 
under  the  weight  of  their  indifference,  certain  friends  of  the 
nationality,  seeing  the  abyss  that  they  were  digging  under 
their  feet,  undertook  some  j'ears  ago  a  supreme  effort  in  order 
to  place  them  again  in  a  position  that  their  apathy  had  caused 
them  to  lose.  It  was  for  this  purpose  that  the  welfare  socie- 
ties, the  literary  and  historical  and  mutual-aid  societies  were 
founded,  the  only  means  \\hich  remained  to  save  from  ship- 
NVTeck  the  descendants  of  noble  France.^ 

It  was  through  the  influence  of  the  French  newspapers 
that  the  French  language  and  the  French  traditions 
were  preserved.  There  was  a  time  when  it  was  even 
necessary  to  combat  the  influence  of  the  Catholic  clergy 

1  A.  Belisle,  Histoire  de  la  Presse  Franco-Amhicain,  1911,  pp.  40-41. 
57 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

— particularly  was  this  true  during  the  period  that 
Cardinal,  at  that  time  Bishop,  O'Connel,  was  located 
at  Portland,  Maine.  The  Lewiston  Messenger  assailed 
the  bishop  with  great  violence,  it  appears,  in  its  struggle 
to  maintain  the  rights  of  the  French  language  in  the 
churches  and  in  the  parochial  schools. 

Under  the  present  bishop,  Monscigneur  Walsh,  nominated 
1907,  the  tone  of  the  Messenger  has  somewhat  moderated. 
But  it  has  not  surrentlcred,  and  it  still  continues  the  battle 
for  the  rights  of  the  French  language  in  the  Church,  in  the 
schools — because  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  acts  of  Mon- 
scigneur Walsh  have  somewhat  exasperated  our  fellow  country- 
men in  Maine — and  even  to-day  it  seems  that  religious  peace 
in  the  diocese  of  Portland  is  still  far  from  being  re-established. 
As  long  as  the  subtle  machinations  of  the  higher  Irish  clergy 
continue,  Rome  will  be  in  a  state  of  ignorance  with  regard  to 
the  actual  condition  of  the  French  Canadians  in  the  United 
States;  and  as  long  as  dioceses,  where  ours  are  in  the  majority 
or  where  they  form  a  considerable  part  of  the  population, 
shall  continue  to  be  occupied  by  French-hating  bishops,  it 
seems,  indeed,  that  the  complete  re-establishment  of  peace 
must  be  adjourned  indefinitely.' 

It  was  a  French-Canadian  paper,  the  Public  Cana- 
dian, which  was  responsible  for  the  first  national  or- 
ganization, upon  a  Canadian-French  nationalist  basis, 
of  the  local  mutual-aid  societies,  of  which  there  was 
likely  to  be  at  least  one  in  every  French  colony  in  the 
United  States.  This  federation,  formed  in  1868,  has 
served  to  bind  together  all  the  little  isolated  and  scat- 
tered communities,  particularly  in  New  York  State  and 
New  England,  and  to  unite  them  for  the  preservation 
of  the  language  and  the  traditions  of  the  French- 
Canadian  people. 

It  was  also  in  1850,  a  good  many  years  after  the  first  Cana- 
dian families  emigrated  to  New  York,  that  the  first  society 

'  A.  Belisle,  Ilvstoire  de  la  Presse  Franco-Americain,  1911,  p.  206. 

58 


THE  IM]MIGR.VNT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

of  St.  Jean  Baptiste  was  established  in  the  United  States. 
These  families  were  on  the  slope  which  leads  to  the  gulf  of 
assimilation.  The  Canadian  traditions,  the  French  language, 
the  family  names,  all  that  had  been  thrown  into  discard  by 
many  of  our  good  French  Canadians  who  believed  that  they 
were  obliged  to  go  through  this  metamorphosis  merely  be- 
cause of  the  fact  of  their  emigration.  The  Public  Canadian 
appeared  then  at  an  auspicious  moment.  We  must  not  find 
too  much  fault  with  this  journal  for  having  carried  to  an 
extreme  the  nationalistic  propaganda.  Its  motives  were 
most  praiseworthy.  It  was  in  order  to  correct  mistakes  that 
the  Public  Canadian  went  a  little  too  far  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. We  may  well  believe  to-day  that  this  was  the  best 
thing  to  do  at  the  moment  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  desired 
end  —  namely,  the  safeguarding  of  our  language  and  our 
traditions.  What  is  certain  is  this — that  we  see  in  New  York 
at  that  moment  the  organization  of  a  magnificent  movement 
which  has  since  grown  and  developed  everywhere  throughout 
the  state  of  New  York  and  New  England.  The  revival  was 
so  general  and  the  appeals  to  the  national  sentiment  made 
by  the  Public  Canadian  made  such  a  profound  impression, 
that  a  new  journal  appeared  upon  the  scene.  This  was  the 
Protedeur  Canadicn,  founded  in  May,  18G8,  in  St.  Albans, 
Vermont,  by  Monsieur  I'abbe  Zephirin  Druon,  grand  vicar  of 
the  diocese  of  Burlington,  and  Monsieur  Antoine  Moussette. 
M.  I'abbe  Druon  wrote  to  M.  Paradis  proposing  a  fusion  of 
the  two  papers.  But  the  latter  determined  to  return  to  Kan- 
kakee, Illinois,  whence  he  had  come  some  years  before,  and 
he  ceased  the  publication  of  the  Public  Canadian  in  October, 
1868.  The  journal  had  had  a  short  existence,  but  had  made 
an  immense  impression  upon  the  French  Canadians.  la 
outlining  the  organizations  among  them  on  the  basis  of 
nationalism  and  of  languag-e,  M.  Paradis  recommended  the 
first  federation  of  the  Canadian-French  societies.^ 

ABIS   OF  NATIONALISM 

The  World  War  has  profoundly  altered  the  situation  of 
most  immigrant  peoples  m  the  United  States.    Many 
^  A.  Belisle,  Histoire  de  la  Presse  Franco-Americain,  1911,  pp.  44-46. 
6  59 


THE  BIIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

of  the  races  they  represent  have  now  won  the  inde- 
pendence which  was  the  ultimate  aim  of  the  European 
nationaHst  movements.  This  fact  removes  a  strong 
motive,  that  existed  before  1914,  for  the  maintenance 
in  America  of  a  national  organization  and  a  nationalist 
press,  the  object  of  which  should  be  to  preserve  the 
immigrant  peoples  against  the  forces  that  were  making 
for  assimilation  and  Americanization. 

But  foreign-language  institutions  and  agencies,  the 
Church  and  the  press  and  the  nationalist  societies,  have 
sought  not  merely  to  protect  against  assimilation  those 
immigrants  who  were  here  temporarily,  but  to  preserve 
among  those  who  remained  permanently  in  the  United 
States  the  traditions  and  language  of  the  home  country. 
At  least,  some  of  the  leaders  among  the  immigrant  peo- 
ples have  thought  of  the  United  States  as  a  region  to  be 
colonized  by  Europeans,  where  each  language  group 
would  maintain  its  own  language  and  culture,  using 
English  as  a  lingua  franca  and  means  of  communica- 
tion among  the  different  nationalities. 

"There  is  no  reason  for  the  English  to  usurp  the  name 
of  American.  They  should  be  called  Yankees  if  anything. 
That  is  the  name  of  English- Americans.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  an  American  nation.  Poles  form  a  nation,  but  the 
United  States  is  a  country,  under  one  government,  inhabited 
by  representatives  of  different  nations.  As  to  the  future,  I 
have,  for  my  part,  no  idea  what  it  will  bring.  I  do  not  think 
that  there  will  be  amalgamation — one  race  composed  of  many. 
The  Poles,  Bohemians,  and  so  forth,  remain  such,  generation 
after  generation.  Switzerland  has  been  a  republic  for  cen- 
turies, but  never  has  brought  her  people  to  use  one  language. 
For  myself,  I  do  favor  one  language  for  the  United  States — 
either  English  or  some  other,  to  be  used  by  everyone,  but 
there  is  no  reason  whv  people  should  not  have  another  lan- 

60 


THE  BOIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

guage;    that  is  an  advantage,  for  it  opens  more  avenues  to 
Europe  and  elsewhere."^ 

From  this  viewpoint  it  is  conceivable  that  every 
racial  and  language  group  should  continue  in  this  coun- 
try its  efforts  to  maintain  and  extend  to  other  kindred 
races  the  influence  of  its  language  and  culture.  This  is 
what  the  Poles  have  attempted  to  do  in  the  case  of  the 
Lithuanians.  It  is  what  the  Magyars  have  sought  to 
do  in  the  case  of  the  Slovaks.  It  was  to  this  same  end 
that  the  Germans  in  America  have  striven  not  merely 
to  maintain  their  own  racial  characteristics,  but  to  make 
the  German  language  and  the  German  speech  as  far  as 
possible  an  integral  part  of  the  cultural  life  of  the 
American  people. 

Some  years  ago  there  appeared  under  the  title  of  "The  Melt- 
ing Pot"  a  drama  of  which  the  author,  a  well-known  Zionist 
leader,  Israel  Zangwill,  announced  as  wisdom's  last  word  that 
America  has  become  a  melting  pot  into  which  the  different 
races  and  nationalities,  together  with  everything  that  mark 
them  as  such — their  speech,  their  tradition,  their  customs, 
and  their  rules  of  life — were  to  be  thrown  in  order  that  they 
might  there  be  converted  into  Americans. 

For  us  German-Americans  the  teaching  of  this  play  is  sim- 
ply a  mixture  of  insipid  phrases  and  unhistorical  thinking. 
It  is  just  the  contrary  of  that  toward  which  we  strive,  and  this 
doctrine  must  be  so  much  the  more  sharply  and  decisively 
antagonized  by  us  as  it  is  enthusiastically  accepted  by  the 
thoughtless  rabble.  For  we  did  not  come  into  this  American 
nation  as  an  expelled  and  persecuted  race,  seeking  help  and 
protection,  but  as  a  part  of  the  nation,  entitled  to  the  same 
consideration  as  every  other,  and  as  a  member  of  a  noble 
race  that  for  more  than  two  hundred  years  has  found  here 
its  second  home  and,  in  common  with  its  blood-related  Anglo- 
Saxon  peoples,  founded  and  built  up  this  nation.  Neither  is 
it  necessary  for  us  to  permit  ourselves  to  be  twisted  and  re- 

1  Emily  G.  Balch,  Our  Slavic  Fellow  Citizens,  1910,  pp.  398-399. 
(Conversation  with  a  Polish-American  priest.) 

61 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

formed  into  Americans,  for  we  are  Americans  in  the  political 
sense — and  only  in  this — as  soon  as  we  swear  allegiance  and 
imite  ourselves  to  the  common  body  of  our  German-Amcricg,n 
people.  We  must,  however,  protest  in  the  most  decided  man- 
ner against  the  limitless  assumption  which  would  seek  to 
force  our  German  personality  into  the  mold  of  a  manufac- 
tured folk  type,  not  only  because  this  sort  of  forced  uniformity 
would  mean  the  destruction  of  all  that  we  regard  as  holiest 
in  our  people  and  its  culture,  but  also  because  such  an  under- 
taking strikes  the  German  mind  as  a  sacrilege.  But,  however 
praiseworthy  it  may  seem  to  a  shortsighted  patriotism  that 
the  mixture  of  races  and  peoples  of  this  land  should  be  forced 
by  every  possible  means  into  one  single  form,  and  that  the 
God-given  diversity  should  be  permitted  to  be  lost  in  an 
artificial  mold,  so  much  the  more  portentous  for  the  future 
of  the  nation  must  this  mistaken  Roman-Gallic  conception 
of  artificial  unity  appear  to  our  German  minds.  The  illusion 
that  it  is  possible  to  suppress  or  destroy  the  individuality  of 
the  racial  type  or  that  it  is  possible  to  force  into  the  yoke  of 
a  single  speech  or  a  single  form  of  government  was,  thanks  to 
the  German  resistance,  the  cause  of  the  downfall  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  The  open  or  secret  attempt  to  do  away  with  our 
German  cultural  type — that  is  to  say,  our  speech,  our  customs, 
and  our  views  of  life — in  the  smudge  kitchen  of  a  national 
melting  pot  has  its  source  in  a  similar  illusion  and  will  like- 
wise, even  if  in  some  other  way,  revenge  itself. 

Let  us  German-Americans  put  our  trust  in  the  secret 
strength  of  the  ring  which  we  have  inherited  from  our  fathers 
and  "vie  with  one  another  in  order  to  make  manifest  the 
strength  of  that  ring."  Let  us  believe,  before  all,  in  ourselves; 
our  ring's  strength  will  show  itself  in  our  children's  children, 
in  a  people  filled  with  the  German  ideals,  in  the  German- 
American  people  of  the  future.^ 

There  are  only  two  language  groups  in  the  United 
States,  both  of  them  Jewish,  for  whom  the  language 
they  speak  is  not  associated  with  a  movement,  or  at 
least  a  disposition,  to  preserve  a  nationality.    These  two 

*  J.  Goebel,  Kampfum  deutsche  Kultur  in  Amerika,  1914,  pp.  11-13. 
62 


THE  BBIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

languages  are  the  Yiddish,  the  dialect  of  the  Russian 
and  Polish  Jews,  and  Ladino,  the  language  of  the 
Oriental  Jews.  Most  Jewish  writers  and  editors  say 
that  they  do  not  expect  the  Yiddish  press  in  America 
long  to  outlast  the  stream  of  Jewish  immigration.  Abra- 
ham Cahan,  editor  of  the  Jewish  Daily  Forward,  says 
he  has  no  interest  in  Yiddish  as  such,  though  he  doesn't 
apologize  for  it.  He  would  just  as  lief  write  to  Jews  in 
English  as  in  Yiddish. 

On  the  other  hand,  with  the  growth  of  Yiddish  litera- 
ture in  recent  years,  and  with  the  realization  by  Yiddish 
writers  of  the  value  for  literary  purposes  of  a  vernacular 
speech  in  which  the  native  sentiments  and  character  of 
a  people  find  a  natural  and  spontaneous  expression,  a 
new  attitude,  a  more  respectful  attitude,  toward  Yid- 
dish has  made  its  appearance.  This  feeling  is  undoubt- 
edly reenforced  by  the  Zionist  movement,  which  is  the 
expression  of  the  awakening  of  the  Jewish  racial  and 
national  consciousness,  even  though  Hebrew,  and  not 
Yiddish,  is  the  language  of  Zion. 

Thus  a  recent  writer  in  the  Day  seeks  to  answer  the 
question,  "Who  reads  the  Yiddish  papers?"  and  comes 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  Yiddish  press  is  no  longer 
confined  to  the  "greenhorns." 

.  .  .  Superficially,  at  least,  the  world  believes  that  the  Yid- 
dish newspapers  are  being  read  by  people  who  have  no  alter- 
native— i.e.,  such  who  are  not  sufficiently  Americanized  to 
read  English.  ...  It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  American- 
Jewish  youth  reads  no  Yiddish  at  all,  and  that  our  intellectual 
classes  are  ashamed  of  Yiddish,  that  our  physicians,  lawyers, 
engineers,  teachers,  etc.,  never  glance  at  a  Yiddish  paper, 
and  that,  in  short,  it  is  only  reading  matter  for  the  "green- 
horn" or  un- Americanized  Jew. 

I  am  now  able  to  refute  this  opinion.  .  .  . 

Our  readers  have,  of  course,  noticed  our  new  "Civil  Serv- 
ice" department  in  Yiddish  under  the  caption,  "How  to 

63 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

obtain  a  government  position."  Various  positions  were  an- 
nounced weekly.  Federal  and  state,  and  I  also  answered 
questions  relating  to  civil  service. 

In  these  Briefkasten  letters,  which  I  received  from  every 
corner  of  the  country,  there  is  a  treasure  of  facts  which  illumi- 
nates the  question  as  to  which  class  the  Yiddish  reader  in 
America  belongs. 

.  . .  \Vhen  I  first  proposed  this  department,  the  project  was 
met  with  derision.  .  .  .  "Those  who  are  interested  in  civil 
service  do  not  read  Yiddish  and  consult  the  special  civil-serv- 
ice papers  in  English,"  they  said. 

They  argued  that  our  readers  were  operators,  tailors,  ped- 
dlers, poor  storekeepers,  who  do  not  know  the  meaning  of 
civil  service.  .  .  . 

First  of  all,  we  must  say  that  most  of  the  civil-service  read- 
ers of  the  Day  are  versed  in  English.  In  order  to  pass  a  civil- 
service  examination  ...  it  is  necessary  to  pass  in  English. 
I  have  good  reasons  to  believe  that  from  5  to  10  per  cent  of 
the  Day  readers  are  interested  in  civil  service.  .  .  .  This,  ac- 
cording to  my  statistics,  shows  that  one  out  of  every  ten  or 
twenty  readers  knows  English.  Moreover,  these  readers  are 
American  citizens.  .  .  .  They  are,  then,  not  "green"  and 
"compelled"  to  read  Yiddish. 

The  letters  I  receive  are  written  in  English,  Yiddish,  He- 
brew, German,  Russian,  and  French.  The  majority  are,  of 
course,  in  English  and  Yiddish,  half  and  half.  Most  of  the 
English  letters  are  excellently  WTitten,  and  show  that  their 
authors  are  fully  Americanized  .  .  .  and  yet  they  read  a  Yid- 
dish paper.  .  .  .  Some  of  the  letters  beg  to  be  excused  for  not 
writing  English.  The  writers  include  lawyers,  dentists,  en- 
gineers, authors,  linguists,  physicians,  chemists,  physicists, 
tjTDewriters,  stenographers,  bookkeepers,  and  clerks.  ...  So 
that  many  men  in  professions,  Americanized  in  the  fullest 
sense,  who  read  English  newspapers,  can  nevertheless  not 
discard  the  Yiddish  paper.  .  .  .* 

Another  article  in  the  Forward  takes  up  the  question 
of  the  Yiddish  speech  and  reaches  the  conclusion  from 

1  R.  Fink,  Day,  July  14,  1915. 

64 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

general  observation  that  there  is  no  longer  the  feverish 
anxiety  that  formerly  existed  among  Jewish  immigrants 
to  discard  the  signs  of  their  foreign  descent  and  speak 
Enghsh.  It  is  interesting,  also,  that  this  change  came 
during  the  war,  when  immigration  from  Europe  had 
practically  ceased. 

Do  the  East  Side  children  speak  more  Yiddish  now  than 
they  used  to?  Have  they  another  feeling  for  it,  or  a  different 
desire  for  its  revival  than  heretofore? 

No  one  has,  of  course,  taken  any  census  on  this  subject, 
but  one  may  judge  by  general  facts  and  general  impressions. 
On  the  street,  just  as  Httle  Yiddish  is  heard  to-day  as  in  the 
past,  and  perhaps  a  little  less.  ,  .  .  About  ten  years  ago  the 
proportion  of  "green"  children  was  higher  than  to-day. 
Then,  any  group  of  children  playing  around  a  tenement 
house  contained  always  one  or  several  who  could  not  speak 
English  and  would  speak  Yiddish. 

Now  the  proportion  of  "green"  children  is  much  lower, 
especially  in  the  last  few  years  since  the  war  broke  out.  That 
is  the  reason  why  a  Yiddish  word  is  more  rarely  heard  among 
the  boys  and  girls  on  the  street  now  than  before.  .  .  . 

Looking  into  the  Jewish  homes,  though,  one  sees  a  different 
picture.  In  thousands  of  homes  of  intelligent  workingmen 
the  parents  are  trying  to  induce  their  children  to  speak  Yid- 
dish. It  is  a  matter  of  principle  with  them.  In  years  past 
these  intelligent  parents  would  try  to  speak  more  English  to 
their  children — not  for  the  latter's  benefit,  but  for  their  own 
— so  as  to  break  into  the  English  language.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  We  recall  the  time  when  there  was  an  abyss  between 
the  parents  and  children.  Even  the  more  refined  would  be 
in  distant  contact  with  their  parents  simply  because  they 
did  not  understand  each  other  and  did  not  attempt  to  imder- 
stand  each  other.  Now  the  situation  is  different.  It  is  a  fact 
that  in  hundreds  of  Jewish  homes  the  children,  young  and  old, 
boys  and  girls  who  attend  high  school,  who  have  been  raised 
here,  take  an  interest  in  Jewish  newspapers,  literature,  and 
theaters. 

Jewish  theatrical  managers  declare  that  genuine  American 
65 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Jewish  boys  and  girls  are  their  frequent  patronizers.  And 
because  of  this  they  find  it  necessary  to  advertise  their  plays 
in  the  English  newspapers.  The  chasm  between  the  old  and 
new  generation  in  the  Jewish  quarter  is  far  less  deep  to-day 
than  of  yore.  The  parents  understand  their  children  better, 
and  the  latter  understand  their  parents  better.  They  under- 
stand each  other's  spirit  and  each  other's  language. ^ 

Perhaps  the  immigrant  peoples  have  been  more  suc- 
cessful than  the  native  born  realize  in  preserving  their 
language  and  ideals  in  America,  in  reproducing  in  their 
homes  and  communities  the  cultural  atmosphere  of  the 
homeland.  A  proof  of  this  success  is  that  frequently 
the  immigrant,  who  meets  everywhere  in  this  country 
those  who  speak  his  own  language,  assumes  that  America 
is  populated  mainly  by  people  of  his  own  race. 

In  a  composite  people  like  the  American,  it  is  inevitable 
that  the  color  of  the  whole  should  appear  different  to  those 
who  view  it  from  different  points.  The  Englishman  is  apt  to 
think  of  the  United  States  as  literally  a  New  England,  a 
country  inhabited  in  the  main  by  two  classes:  on  the  one 
hand,  descendants  of  seventeenth-century  English  colonists, 
and  on  the  other,  newly  arrived  foreigners. 

The  continental  European,  on  the  contrary,  is  apt  to  suffer 
from  the  complimentary  illusion,  and  to  believe  that  practical- 
ly all  Americans  are  recent  European  emigrants,  mainly,  or  at 
least  largely,  from  his  own  country.  Frenchmen  have  insisted 
to  me  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  United  States  is  French, 
and  Germans  often  believe  that  it  is  mainlj'  German  and  that 
one  could  travel  comfortably  throughout  the  United  States 
with  a  knowledge  of  German  alone.  This  is  very  natural. 
A  man  sees  his  own  country'  people  flocking  to  America,  per- 
haps partly  depopulating  great  tracts  of  the  fatherland;  he 
receives  copies  of  newspapers  in  his  own  language  printed  in 
America;  if  he  travels  in  America  he  is  feted  and  entertained 
everj'where  by  his  own  countrymen,  and  is  shown  America 
through  their  eyes.    "I  visited  two  weeks  ia  Cedar  Kapids, 

^  Jewish  Daily  Forward,  March  9,  1917. 
66 


THE  IMAIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

and  never  spoke  anytliing  but  Bohemian,"  said  a  Prague 
friend  to  me.  An  Italian  lady  in  Boston  said,  speaking  in 
Italian,  "You  know,  in  Boston  one  naturally  gets  so  little 
chance  to  hear  any  English,"  much  as  Americans  make  the 
corresponding  complaint  in  Paris  and  Berlin.^ 

Possibly  native-born  Americans  are  subject  to  a  sim- 
ilar illusion  and  think  that  the  bulk  of  our  population  is 
made  up  of  descendants  of  the  Colonial  settlers.  In  so 
far  as  this  illusion  holds,  native  Americans  are  likely  to 
think  there  is  a  much  greater  demand  than  actually 
exists  in  the  United  States  for  uniformity  of  language 
and  ideas. 

The  fact  that  human  nature  is  subject  to  illusions 
of  this  sort  may  have  practical  consequences.  It  is 
conceivable,  for  example,  that  if  it  should  come  to  be 
generally  regarded  as  a  mark  of  disloyalty  or  inferiority 
to  speak  a  foreign  language,  we  should  reproduce  in  a 
mild  form  the  racial  animosities  and  conflicts  which  are 
resulting  in  the  breaking  up  of  the  continental  impe- 
riuras,  Austria-Hungary,  Russia,  and  Germany.  In  all 
these  countries  the  animosities  appear  to  have  been 
created  very  largely  by  efforts  to  suppress  the  mother 
tongues  as  literary  languages. 

POPULARIZATION   OF   THE   IMMIGRANT   PRESS 

So  far,  immigrants  have  found  America  tolerant  of  their 
languages.  English  is  the  language  of  the  government 
and  of  public  education,  but  except  during  the  war, 
when  such  publications  were  under  special  surveillance, 
there  has  been  no  check  on  any  use  of  a  foreign  language 
as  such.  The  intellectual  representative  of  a  suppressed 
race  is  here  given  a  free  hand  to  do  what  was  prohibited 
at  home :  establish  a  press  in  his  mother  tongue. 

*  Emily  G.  Balch,  Our  Slavic  Fellow  Citizens,  pp.  399-400. 
67 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

The  foreign-language  press  in  the  United  States  is 
edited  by  men  who  have  brought  to  this  country  the 
European  conception  of  a  press  addressed  exclusively 
to  the  highly  educated,  deliberately  formal  and  ab- 
struse. Naturally,  at  first,  they  seek  to  reproduce  here 
the  newspaj)ers  that  they  have  known  at  home.  To  a 
very  considerable  extent  they  succeed;  but  the  condi- 
tions of  life  in  America,  and  particularly  the  conditions 
under  which  tlie  immigrant  press  is  pubUshed,  seriously 
modify  their  effort. 

It  is  the  business  manager  of  the  paper  who  realizes 
most  keenly  what  the  paper  loses  by  "high-brow"  lan- 
guage. The  business  manager  of  the  Dziennik  Ludowi/y 
the  Polish  Socialist  paper  of  Chicago,  said  he  was  always 
begging  the  editors  to  wT-ite  more  simply,  but  they  in- 
sisted on  writing  heavy  articles  that  no  one  could 
understand.  The  business  manager  of  the  Novy  Mir 
(New  World),  a  Russian  Socialist  paper,  said  the  paper 
was  running  at  a  deficit,  but  none  of  the  editors  were 
obliging  enough  to  write  so  that  they  could  be  under- 
stood. Letters  came  in  from  the  readers,  who  were 
peasants,  saying:  "Please  send  me  a  dictionary.  I 
cannot  read  your  paper";  or  sending  in  an  underlined 
copy  of  the  paper  with  a  note  attached,  which  read: 
"Please  tell  me  what  this  means  and  send  the  paper 
back  to  me.  I  paid  for  it  and  I  have  a  right  to  know 
what  it  means." 

The  Novy  Mir  contains  articles  on  Socialism  by 
Lenine.  One  intelligent  Russian,  who  did  not  have  the 
technical  vocabulary  of  the  university,  said,  "I  take 
the  Novy  Mir  for  Lenine's  articles,  and  it  breaks  my 
heart  to  read  it."  The  present  editor,  I.  Hourwich, 
writes  editorials  of  fom*  columns,  and  he  is  said  to  be 
the  most  difiicult  writer  to  understand  of  all  the  men 
who  have  been  on  the  Novy  Mir.  Lecturers  who  have 
traveled  among  the  Russians  in  the  United  States  say 

68 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

that  the  peasants  in  their  eagerness  to  understand  what 
is  going  on  in  Russia  puzzle  over  articles  that  no  one 
but  a  philosopher  could  understand. 

Many  of  the  younger  men  who  were  writers  for  the  Novy 
Mir  re-emigrated  to  Russia  at  the  expense  of  the  Kerensky 
government  in  the  spring  of  1917  along  with  two  or  three 
thousand  other  Russians.  Detsch,  the  first  editorial  writer, 
became  a  social  patriot;  while  Trotijky,  the  last  editorial 
writer,  who  had  belonged  to  no  party,  became  a  Bolshevist. 
Many  of  the  journalists  are  now  writing  for  the  official  Bol- 
shevist newspapers — the  Isvestia  and  the  Pravda — and  they 
are  writing  just  as  tliey  did  in  New  York  City,  for  the  intel- 
lectuals rather  than  for  the  people.  Only  ^'olodarsky,  who 
was  the  "Question  and  Answer"  man  on  the  Novy  Mir,  and 
who  became  "Commissaire  of  the  Press"  for  the  Soviet  gov- 
ernment, discovered  how  to  write  a  Socialist  paper  for  the 
people. 

It  is  not  only  the  Socialist  press  of  the  United  States  that 
WTites  above  the  heads  of  its  readers.  The  big  Greek  dailies 
of  New  York  City,  the  Atlantis  and  the  National  Herald,  also 
WTite  editorials  that  the  readers  cannot  understand.  While 
in  Athens  there  are  seven  dialect  papers,  there  is  only  one  in 
the  United  States,  the  Canipatm,  of  New  York  City,  which  is 
a  broadly  humorous  paper  containing  satiric  verses.  A  plain 
language,  similar  to  the  spoken  language,  appears  in  the 
Atlantis  and  the  National  Herald  only  in  the  bitter  disputes 
carried  on  between  the  Constantine  and  Venizuelos  factions.* 

The  immigrant  intellectual  has  a  very  poor  opinion 
of  the  American  newspaper  and  intellectual  life  gener- 
ally, as  he  finds  it  in  this  country.  Our  newspaper,  with 
its  local  news,  its  personal  gossip,  and  its  human-inter- 
est anecdotes,  is  not  his  conception  of  journalism.  Its 
very  language  seems  to  him  lamentably  close  to  the 
language  of  the  street. 


^  Winifred  Rauschenbush,   Notes  on  the  Foreign-language  Press, 
New  York  (manuscript). 

C9 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

American  newspapers,  years  ago,  passed  through  a  stage  of 
bombast,  but  since  the  invention  of  yellow  journalism  by  the 
elder  James  Gordon  Bennett — that  is,  the  invention  of  jour- 
nalism for  the  frankly  ignorant  and  vulgar — they  have  gone 
to  the  other  extreme.  .  .  .  The  great  majority  of  our  news- 
papers, including  all  those  of  large  circulation,  are  chiefly 
written,  as  one  observer  says,  "not  in  English,  but  in  a  strange 
jargon  of  words  that  would  have  made  Addison  or  Milton 
shudder  in  despair."  ^ 

It  is  the  American's  interest  in  local  news  that  jus- 
tifies, perhaps,  the  characterization  of  America  as  a 
"nation  of  villagers."  As  a  people,  it  seems  we  are  not 
interested  in  ideas,  but  in  gossip.  That  was  undoubt- 
edly the  meaning  of  the  cautious  observation  of  a  num- 
ber of  the  Jewish  intelligentsia,  whom  Hutchins  Hap- 
good  met  some  years  ago  in  a  Ghetto  cafe. 

"In  Russia,"  one  of  them  said,  "a  few  men,  really 
cultivated  and  intellectual,  give  the  tone,  and  every- 
body follows  them.  In  this  country  the  public  gives  the 
tone,  and  the  playwright  and  the  literary  man  simply 
express  the  public."  ^ 

One  ought  to  add,  however,  in  order  to  make  the 
statement  complete,  that  the  American  public  is  very 
largely  made  up  of  the  second  and  third  generations  of 
European  peasants. 

The  European  press  was,  as  has  been  stated,  ad- 
dressed to  the  intelligentsia,  but  among  immigrants, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Jews,  the  Japanese,  and  the 
Letts,  the  intelligentsia,  although  active,  is  not  numer- 
ous. The  Ukrainians  are  said  to  have  only  five  intel- 
lectuals in  the  United  States.  The  great  majority  of 
the  immigrant  peoples  are  peasants;  they  speak  dialects 
and  read  with  difficulty.    It  becomes  necessary,  there- 

^  H.  L.  Mencken,  The  American  Language,  1919,  p.  313. 
2  Hutchms  Hapgood,  The  Spirit  of  the  Ghetto.  1902  and  1909,  p. 
282. 

70 


THE  BniIGR.\NT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

fore,  for  the  editor  of  an  immigrant  paper  to  make  all 
sorts  of  concessions  to  the  inteUigence  of  his  pubUc. 

He  usually  finds,  with  a  little  experience,  that  his 
own  readers  have  the  vulgar  tastes  of  the  American 
public  in  an  even  more  primitive  form,  and  that  he 
must  do  violence  to  most  of  his  journalistic  ideals  in 
order  to  hold  their  attentions. 

The  first  concession  the  editor  makes  is  in  style  and 
language.  In  order  to  get  his  paper  read,  he  must  write 
in  the  language  his  public  speaks.  If  the  literary  form 
of  his  language  differs  widely  from  tlie  vernacular,  he 
will  have  to  abandon  it  in  whole  or  in  part  for  the  dia- 
lect spoken  by  the  majority  of  his  readers. 

All  Croatian  papers  in  America  are  written  in  the  prevalent 
literary  style,  and  the  same  as  is  used  in  Croatia.  In  some  of 
them  there  appears  from  time  to  time  a  composition  in  one 
of  the  several  dialects,  mostly  as  a  humoristic,  entertaining 
fiction.  We  have  in  America  a  few  capable  fellows  who  do 
such  WTiting.  I  myself  do  it  from  time  to  time,  using  the  most 
characteristic  dialect,  kajkavstina,  which  was  before  the 
literary  reformation  the  dialect  of  our  early  scholars  (before 
1835).! 

The  Romamil,  of  Cleveland,  the  only  Rumanian  daily 
of  the  United  States,  has  articles  in  the  Transylvanian 
vernacular,  as  90  per  cent  of  the  Rumanians  in  this 
country,  it  is  estimated,  come  from  Transylvania.  The 
Rumanian  paper  of  New  York  City,  the  Desieaptate 
Romane,  has  fiction  and  verse  contributed  by  one  of 
the  readers  in  the  Transylvanian  dialect.  In  general,  an 
attempt  is  made  to  ^\Tite  the  articles  in  this  paper,  if 
not  completely  in  the  dialect  style,  at  least  using  words 
that  are  not  the  correct  Rumanian  of  the  kingdom  of 

'  Francis  K.  Kolander,  editor  of  Zajednicar,  organ  of  Narodna 
Hrvatska  Zajednica  Society,  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania.  (Corre- 
spondence, October  27,  1919.) 

71 


THE  BIINIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Rumania,  but  are  familiar  dialect  words  understood  by 
any  Rumanian.  The  word  for  "pocket,"  which  is  jep 
or  jepul  in  the  dialect,  is  hizanar  in  correct  Rumanian. 
Sometimes  the  editor  compromises  by  writing  in  the 
literary  language  on  the  editorial  pages,  discussing  the 
conventional  themes,  while  the  rest  of  the  paper  is 
made  up  of  hasty  translations  from  the  American  news- 
papers, written  in  jargon,  words  from  the  vernacular 
interspersed  with  American  idioms  and  American  words 
with  foreign  endings. 

The  editor  must  make  other  concessions,  to  the  in- 
terests of  his  readers,  which  take  him  still  farther  from 
the  traditions  of  the  European  press. 

The  peasants  are  sentimental;  the  editor  prints 
poetry  for  them  in  the  vernacular.  He  fills  the  paper 
with  cheap  fiction  and  writes  loud-sounding  editorials, 
double-leaded,  so  that  they  will  be  easily  read.  The 
readers  are  very  little  interested  in  abstract  discussion, 
so  the  paper  is  more  and  more  devoted  to  the  dramatic 
aspects  of  the  news  and  those  close  to  their  own  lives, 
the  police  news,  labor  news,  and  local  gossip. 

Sometimes  the  publisher  is  himself  an  ignorant  man, 
or  at  least  not  an  intellectual,  who  looks  upon  his  paper 
as  some  American  publishers  do,  as  an  advertising 
medium,  which  prints  news  merely  to  get  circulation. 
These  men  know  their  public  and  insist  on  printing  in 
the  paper  what  their  subscribers  are  interested  in  and 
able  to  read.  It  is  said  that  one  of  the  most  successful 
Chinese  editors  in  America  cannot  read  the  editorials 
in  his  own  paper  because  he  does  not  understand  the 
literary  language.  Some  of  the  most  successful  foreign- 
language  papers  are  published  by  men  who  do  not  make 
any  pretensions  to  education  and  are  regarded  by  the 
writers  they  employ  as  ignoramuses.  When  the  writers 
for  the  press  despise  both  their  employers  and  their 
public,  as  they  sometimes  do,  not  much  can  be  ex- 

72 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

pected   from   the   newspaper  which  they  succeed   in 
producing. 

The  following  description  of  an  immigrant  newspaper 
from  the  inside  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  characteristic 
of  all  immigrant  newspapers.  It  certainly  would  not  be 
representative  of  the  Socialistic  and  radical  press.  There 
is  generally  a  very  real  sympathy  and  a  good  deal  of 
understanding  among  the  editors  of  the  radical  papers 
for  the  European  peasant,  especially  after  he  has  been 
transformed  in  this  country  into  a  laborer  and  prole- 
tarian. He  then  becomes  a  representative  of  the  class 
for  which  the  radical  press  mainly  exists.  But  the  re- 
moteness from  life  of  the  aristocratic  immigrant  intel- 
lectual editor  put  to  it  for  capital  is  reflected  in  this 
description. 

The  editors  of  the  Szabadsag  have  a  curious  theory  which 
shocked  me  a  great  deal  when  I  first  joined  the  paper,  but 
which  I  found  later  was  working  smoothly  enough.  It  is 
usually  summed  up  in  the  motto,  "Anything  is  good  enough 
for  the  "bufkly  " — buddy  being  the  universally  used  term  for 
the  Hungarian  immigrant  worker.  The  word,  adopted  orig- 
inally by  the  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia  coal  miners, 
has  been  assimilated  into  the  American  Magyar  idiom  and 
is  now  spelled  "bodi";  by  the  "intellectuals"  it  is  mostly 
used  as  a  term  of  amiable  contempt.  The  average  Magyar 
reader  has  no  sense  whatever  for  news  value;  in  the  outlying 
'districts  he  gets  Monday's  Szabadsag  on  Wednesday,  then 
saves  it  for  Sunday,  when  the  whole  week's  editions  are  care- 
fully perused  from  beginning  to  end.  The  "buddy"  calls 
any  item  found  in  a  newspaper  a  hirdetes,  meaning  advertise- 
ment; the  editorials,  the  news  and  feature  stories,  are  all 
"advertisements."  This  does  not  imply — what  is  often  the 
truth — that  these  items  have  been  paid  for;  advertisement 
in  the  American  Magyar  idiom  simply  means  reading  matter. 
The  big  display  ads.  of  patent-medicine  druggists  are  perused 
just  as  religiously  as  the  front-page  war  stories.  In  fact,  they 
are  liked  better,  because  they  are  printed  in  bigger  type  and 

73 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

are  more  closely  related  to  everyday  life.  And,  indeed,  while 
the  editorial  and  news  columns  in  most  Magyar  papers  are 
written  with  an  almost  incredible  carelessness,  these  "real" 
advertisements  often  display  much  ingenuity  and  skill — in  a 
way,  they  are  the  most  "American"  items  in  the  whole  paper. 
It  is  customary  for  tlie  big  druggists,  most  of  whom  do  mail- 
order business  on  a  national  scale,  to  employ  editorial  writers 
on  the  Nepszava  and  Szabadsag  for  writing  advertising  "copy," 
and  there  was  a  time  when  this  "side  line"  netted  more  for 
some  of  the  editors  than  their  regular  salaries.  .  .  . 

Here  I  wish  to  say  that,  in  the  case  of  the  Hungarian- 
American  newspapers  within  the  range  of  my  personal  ob- 
servation, the  leading  consideration,  as  far  as  details  of  edi- 
torial routine  were  concerned,  was  simply  to  get  the  paper 
out  with  as  little  effort  as  possible.  Viewpoints  of  editorial 
and  even  of  business  policy  were  frequently  overshadowed  by 
the  editors'  unwillingness  to  exert  themselves,  by  their  de- 
termination to  "take  it  easy."  In  other  words,  a  more  or  less 
unconscious  editorial  sabotage  was  being  practiced.  The 
explanation  lies  in  the  conditions  of  the  trade  and  the  type  of 
man  engaged  in  editing  Hungarian-American  newspapers. 
The  men  working  on  the  editorial  staffs  of  the  Szabadsag  and 
Nepszava  are  not,  for  the  most  part,  professional  journalists 
at  all — that  is,  they  were  not  journalists  in  the  old  country; 
they  came  to  the  United  States,  not  in  the  hopeful  mood  of 
young  men  determined  to  make  good,  but  simply  because 
this  seemed  to  them  the  only  way  out  of  a  maze  of  failures 
and  mistakes.  Without  any  particular  training,  without  iu 
most  cases  a  knowledge  of  English,  but  w'ith  a  strong  aversion 
to  strenuous  work,  they  drifted  into  the  offices  of  Magyar 
newspapers  here,  because  they  were  not  fitted  for  anything 
else;  they  considered  their  jobs  as  a  sort  of  last  refuge.  la 
the  lack  of  opportunity  afforded  by  competition,  real  ad- 
vancement is  blocked  to  them;  they  are  fully  at  the  mercy 
of  two  employers — those  of  the  Szabadsag  and  Nepszava.  A 
few  of  them  are  sustained  by  the  hope  that  they  will  ulti- 
mately be  able  to  get  out  of  the  game;  the  rest,  being  well  up 
in  the  thirties,  have  not  even  this  hope  left.  They  resign  them- 
selves to  a  hand-to-mouth  existence,  and  simply  cease  to  care. 

74 


A 


THE  IMJVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSBIILATION 

It  is  not  merely  a  matter  of  being  overworked  and 
imderpaid;  working  conditions  are  notoriously  bad  in  the 
case  of  the  average  American  newspaper  man,  but  for  him 
there  is  alwajs  a  chance  of  advancement.  In  the  Hungarian- 
American  press  such  chance  does  not  exist;  there  are  about 
a  dozen  jobs  to  go  around,  and  no  hope  to  come  out  on  the 
top.  To  work  on  the  Nepszava  or  S^ahadsag  means  not  only 
getting  into  a  rut,  but  being  bottled  up  in  a  cul-de-sac.  From 
the  publisher's  point  of  view,  the  matter  is  almost  equally 
hopeless;  there  is  no  supply  of  fresh  talent  to  draw  upon,  but 
always  the  same  crowd  of  twenty  or  thirty  individuals;  and 
in  the  absence  of  competition  it  hardly  matters  whether  you 
turn  out  a  good  sheet  or  a  bad  one,  except  that  it  is  cheaper, 
all  told,  to  turn  out  a  bad  one.  In  trying  to  understand  the 
failure  of  the  Hungarian-American  press  to  develop  a  single 
genuinely  progressive  organ  of  education  and  opinion,  the 
psychology  of  the  Hungarian-American  editor  must  be  taken 
into  account 

In  regard  to  the  smaller  "one-man"  weeklies,  the  situation 
is  not  much  better.  For  the  publisher-owner-editor  the 
chance  of  "making  good"  has  hardly  anything  to  do  with  the 
journalistic-literary  quality  of  his  sheet.  As  a  rule,  he  has  no 
local  competitor,  and  his  sources  of  revenue  lie  mostly  in  the 
way  of  the  petty  graft  of  parish  politics  and  fraternal-society 
intrigue. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  in  the  instances  within  my 
range  of  observation  the  influence  exerted  by  the  Szabadsag 
and  Nepszava  on  the  social  life  among  Hungarian-Americans 
has  been  almost  without  exception  an  evil  one.  This  is  to  be 
accoimted  for,  not  by  any  particular  personal  wickedness  on 
the  part  of  publishers,  but  by  the  isolation  of  the  Hungarian- 
American  settlements  and  the  fact  that  Hungarian-American 
newspaper  power  constitutes  a  monopoly  compared  to  which 
the  condition  of  the  American  press  seems  democratic.  In 
a  manner  of  speaking,  these  two  dailies  appear  with  the 
exclusion  of  publicity.  There  is  no  competition  whatever. 
No  movement  can  aspire  to  success  without  their  approval 
and  active  support;  their  enmity  means  almost  invariably 
failure  for  any  social  venture;  and  while  their  power  for  good 
6  75 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

is  rather  restricted,  their  power  for  evil  is,  within  their  own 
circle,  practically  limitless.  And  this  power  is  wielded  mostly 
to  promote  ends  of  personal  vanity  and  ambition  and  revenge. 

To  be  ignored  or  "teased"  by  these  papers  means,  for  the 
Hungarian  business  or  professional  man  making  his  fortune 
among  his  people,  almost  certain  ruin.  And  the  worst  of  it 
is  that  the  injured  party — unless  it  be  a  matter  of  criminal 
libel — has  no  way  at  his  disposal  to  seek  redress. 

Apart  from  a  few  isolated  occasions  I  recall,  it  hardly  ever 
happened  that  a  weekly  paper  dared  to  engage  in  a  fight 
against  the  powerful  dailies;  and  even  if  it  dared,  its  case 
would  be  hopeless;  most  of  them  command  merely  a  local 
audience,  and  the  two  dailies  have  their  ways  and  means  of 
intimidation,  and  worse. 

The  Elore,  of  course,  is  another  matter;  but  this  labors 
under  the  handicap  of  being  a  Socialist  paper.  No  "bour- 
geois" society  or  business  or  professional  man  would  care  or 
dare  to  lean  upon  the  Elore  against  the  two  other  dailies. 

The  most  disgusting  feature  of  the  situation  is  probably  the 
circumstance  that  the  participants  are  practically  always  the 
same  people,  only  lined  up  in  different  formations  against  one 
another.  The  only  people  who  profit  from  this  constant  per- 
mutation of  groups  and  parties  within  the  ranks  of  the  Hun- 
garian intellectuals  are  the  Socialists,  one  of  whose  chief 
propaganda  weapons  among  the  Hungarian  workers  in  their 
permanent  campaign,  through  the  Elore,  is  the  corruption  of 
"bourgeois"  fraternal  societies  and  parish  politics. i 

The  instability,  lack  of  a  policy,  and  general  disorder 
exhibited  by  the  Magyar  press  is  likely  to  be  charac- 
teristic of  the  press  of  all  recent  immigrants.  It  reflects 
the  disorder  that  inevitably  exists  in  every  immigrant 
community  before  it  has  succeeded  in  accommodating 
itself  to  the  American  environment.  It  is  not  charac- 
teristic of  the  press  of  the  older  and  more  firmly  estab- 
lished immigrant  communities,  like  the  Germans,  Scan- 
dinavians, or  any  of  those  immigrants  who  have  be- 


^  Eugene  S.  Bagger,  The  Hungarian  Press  in  America  (manuscript). 
76 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

come  permanently  settled  in  the  rural  communities  and 
small  towns.  This  disorder  means,  specifically,  that 
change  and  accommodation  are  going  on. 

On  the  whole,  the  significant  changes  that  take  place 
in  the  foreign-language  press,  under  the  influence  of 
American  conditions,  have  been  in  the  direction  of  a 
simpler  diction,  closer  to  the  despised  vernacular; 
more  attention  to  police  news,  and  to  personal  items^i 
matters  of  mere  human  interest;  finally  the  substitu- 
tion of  nationalism  and  Socialism  and  conflicts  within 
the  immigrant  community  for  the  political  discussions 
of  the  European  press.  This  general  lowering  of  the 
tones  of  the  foreign-language  papers  has  created  a 
public  in  this  country  composed  of  peoples  who,  in  their 
home  country,  would  have  read  little  or  nothing  at  all. 
The  following  excerpts  from  the  testimony  of  three 
members  of  the  Russian  Union,  who  were  examined 
with  reference  to  deportation,  probably  indicates  the 
average  mental  caliber  of  the  readers  of  Novy  Mir:  ^ 

Naum  Stepanauk,  of  Brest-Litovsk: 

Naum  Stepanauk  was  a  farm  worker  in  Russia.  He  seldom 
read  newspapers,  and  no  philosophical  or  scientific  books. 
When  he  came  to  the  United  States  he  went  to  New  Castle, 
Pennsylvania,  to  the  address  of  a  man  whom  he  knew.  Then 
he  spent  three  years  in  the  mines  at  Shenandoah,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  from  there  he  went  to  Roderfield,  West  Virginia, 
and  the  Kansas  farms.  He  also  worked  in  a  shop  in  Ohio, 
and  in  the  smelters  and  mines  of  Pueblo,  Colorado.  In  Akron 
he  had  a  job  with  the  Goodrich  Rubber  Company.  His  aver- 
age wage  there  was  twenty-four  dollars  a  week. 

Stepanauk  is  a  member  of  the  Federation  of  Unions  of 
Russian  Workers.  He  said  that  his  purpose  in  joining  it  was 
to  educate  himself  further.  Among  a  great  deal  of  literature 
that  he  had,  much  of  which  had  been  left  him  by  friends  who 
had  gone  to  Russia,  he  had  actually  read  the  following :  Gorki, 
Tolstoi,  Korylenko,  House  No.  13,  L.  Kralsky;  Sacrifice  of 
War,  Kropotkin,  an  anticlerical  pamphlet,  and  a  song  book. 

77 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

He  was  elected  secretary  of  the  Akron  branch  because  he 
could  write. 

He  exj)lained  that  one  of  the  aims  of  the  organization  was 
to  teach  men  Russian  as  well  as  English,  as  very  many  mem- 
bers of  the  organization  cannot  read  Russian.  When  asked 
why  it  would  be  of  value  to  them  to  know  Russian,  he  said, 
"So  that  they  may  understand  life,  their  own  lives."  When 
asked  whether  he  knew  about  the  government  of  Russia  in 
1917,  he  replied  that  he  knew  only  in  a  vague  way.  When 
asked,  in  connection  with  the  lectures  and  classes  of  the 
Federation,  whether  he  was  not  very  little  interested  in  forms 
of  government,  he  replied,  "Yes,  I  was  only  interested  in 
Russia."  When  asked  why  he  wanted  to  go  back  to  Russia, 
he  said,  "Because  I  was  born  in  Russia,  and  it  is  binding  to 
that  country  because  my  ideals  are  there."  Anarchy  he  under- 
stood to  be  love,  equality,  and  construction. 

Powell  Kreczin,  of  Saratov,  Russia: 

When  asked  how  he  could  tell  the  good  from  the  bad,  Krec- 
zin replied:  "Other  people  tell  me  what  is  good  and  what  is 
not  good.  I,  myself,  do  not  understand  many  things."  When 
asked  who  told  him  what  was  good  and  what  was  bad,  he 
replied  that  those  people  had  all  gone  back  to  Russia;  and 
when  asked  whether  the  people  who  were  arrested  with  him 
instructed  him,  he  said,  "They  are  all  of  the  same  caliber  as 
I  am;  they  do  not  know  anything  for  themselves." 

This  man  did  not  know  that  a  republic  does  not  have  a 
king.  All  he  knew  was  the  word  "republic"  and  the  name 
"Wilson."  WTien  asked  about  the  songs  simg  at  the  Union, 
he  said,  "There  is  one  about  a  fellow  who  was  sent  to  exile, 
a  good,  strong,  husky  fellow."  When  asked  about  the  books 
he  read,  he  said,  "I  was  interested  in  works  about  culture  and 
about  the  sea;  I  cannot  recall  what  works  the  others  were." 

Nicolai  Volosuk,  of  Grodno,  Russia: 

Volosuk  was  a  member  of  the  Federation  of  Russian  Unions. 
Copies  of  the  Golos  Truda  and  the  Khlieb  i  Volya  were  sold 
at  their  meetings.  In  his  leisure  time  Volosuk  attended  a 
self-educational  school,  where  he  learned  about  botany,  for- 
estry, "  where  coal  comes  from,  and  how  it  is  formed."    When 

78 


THE  EVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

asked  whether  he  ever  read  books  on  social  subjects,  he  did 
not  understand  the  term.  Did  he  ever  read  books  on  govern- 
ment or  philosophy?  He  replied,  "I  never  read  big  books." 
When  asked  "If  you  were  given  a  book  like  this  in  Russian, 
would  you  understand  the  language?"  he  said,  "If  the  book 
were  written  very  Uterate,  I  don't  think  I  could  understand." 
When  asked  whether  he  believed  in  Bolshevism,  he  said,  "I 
only  believe  that  if  I  go  back  to  Russia  I  would  have  some 
land." 

Here  for  the  first  time,  with  few  exceptions,  the 
European  peasants  find  newspapers  written  about 
things  that  interest  them,  in  the  languages  they  speak. 
Here  for  the  first  time  the  reading  habit  is  established 
among  them.  The  newspaper  brings  them  into  con- 
tact with  the  current  thought  and  the  current  events  of 
their  community,  primarily  the  race  group,  with  its 
interests  merging  on  one  side  into  the  homeland  and  on 
the  other  into  the  larger  American  commimity.  Grad- 
ually, and  largely  through  the  efforts  of  the  Socialist 
press,  the  reading  habit  establishes  the  thinking  habit. 
The  net  result  has  been  to  raise  the  intellectual  level 
of  the  immigrant  body. 

LANGUAGE   AND   CULTURE  MODIFIED 

The  immigrant  press,  despised  by  the  foreign  intellec- 
tuals for  its  vulgarity,  has  power  among  its  readers 
rarely  equaled  by  more  literary  journals.  Having 
created  its  reading  public,  it  monopolizes  it  to  a  great 
extent.  Nationalistic  editors  seek  to  use  this  monopoly 
to  keep  their  readers'  interest  and  activity  focused  on 
the  home  country.  But  under  the  terms  of  its  existence 
the  press  is  apt  to  aid  rather  than  prevent  the  drift 
toward  the  American  community. 

This  process  of  Americanization  by  contact  can  be 
seen  very  plainly  in  the  changes  introduced  into  the 

79 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

speech  of  the  immigrants.  Even  in  the  rural  communi- 
ties, where  the  foreign  language  is  preserved  longer 
than  elsewhere,  it  tends  to  become  Americanized,  or  at 
least  localized.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  case  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Dutch. 

The  Morgenstem  was  written  for  the  Germans  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, who  spoke  a  mixed  language  based  on  the  Pfaclzer 
dialect  and  modified  by  the  adoption  of  many  English  words 
and  phrases. 

The  first  words  that  are  adopted  from  the  American  are 
such  words  as  "basement."  Striking  verbs  are  also  intro- 
duced :  Ich  habe  geketscht  einen  Kold  (I  have  caught  [catched] 
a  cold).  Ich  bin  aufgejumpt  wie  ein  junger  Hirsch  (I  jumped 
up  like  a  young  deer). 

Business  transactions  also  serve  to  introduce  the  phrases 
used  by  Americans.  An  advertiser  in  the  Morgenstem,  after 
beginning  his  ad.  in  Hoch-Deutsch,  finished  it  in  Pennsyl- 
vania Dutch:  Wir  sind  determt  Bissness  zu  tun  (We  are  de- 
termined to  do  business).  Kommt  wir  woUen  einen  Bar  gen 
machen  (Come,  we  will  make  a  bargain).  Wir  trihten  sie  wie 
ein  Gentleman  (We  will  treat  you  like  a  gentleman).  Sie  sen 
gesatisfeit  (They  were  satisfied). 

Pieces  of  furniture  or  articles  of  clothing  that  were  different 
from  those  in  Germany  were  usually  referred  to  by  their 
English  names.  The  ^Titer  of  a  letter  which  was  published  in 
the  paper  contrasts  the  conditions  in  an  Indian  (Insching) 
hut  with  the  civilization  of  the  to^NTis:  Do  waren  Wir  net 
getrtivelt  mit  Lichter,  Schaukelstuhle,  un  carpets  (W^e  were  not 
troubled  with  lights,  rocking  chairs,  and  carpets) ;  im  Parlor 
(in  the  parlor) ;  Net  gehattert  von  Hupps,  oder  17  Unterrock, 
Teitlacking,  un  seidens  Dresses  (Not  bothered  with  hoops,  or 
17  petticoats,  tight  lacing,  or  silk  dresses). * 

Yiddish  has  been  peculiarly  hospitable  to  new  and 
strange  words,  taking  up  with  and  giving  currency  to 
every  convenient  locution  and  every  striking  phrase, 
from  the  languages  with  which  it  came  in  contact. 

^  Der  Morgenstem  und  Bucks  und  Montgomery  Counties  Berichter. 
80 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSBIILATION 

The  changes  that  Yiddish  has  undergone  in  America, 
though  rather  foreign  to  the  present  inquiry,  are  interesting 
enough  to  be  noticed.  First  of  all,  it  has  admitted  into  its 
vocabulary  a  large  number  of  everyday  substantives,  among 
them  ''boy,"  "chair,"  "window,"  "carpet,"  "floor,"  "dress," 
"hat,"  "watch,"  "ceiling,"  "consumption,"  "property," 
"trouble,"  "bother,"  "match,"  "change,"  "party,"  "birth- 
day," "picture"  (only  in  the  sense  of  newspaper),  "gam- 
bler," "show,"  "hall,"  "kitchen,"  "store,"  "bedroom," 
"key,"  "mantelpiece,"  "closet,"  "loimge,"  "broom,"  "table- 
cloth," "paint,"  "landlord,"  "fellow,"  "tenant,"  "shop," 
"wages,"  "foreman,"  "sleeve,"  "collar,"  "cuflf,"  "button," 
"cotton,"  "tliimble,"  "needle,"  "pocket,"  "bargain,"  "sale," 
"remnant,"  "sample,"  "haircut,"  "razor,"  "waist,"  "bas- 
ket," "school,"  "scholar,"  "teacher,"  "baby,"  "mustache," 
"butcher,"  "grocery,"  "dinner,"  "street,"  and  "walk."  And 
with  them  many  characteristic  Americanisms;  for  example, 
"bluffer,"  "faker,"  "boodler,"  "grafter,"  "gangster," 
"crook,"  "guy,"  "kike,"  "piker,"  "squealer,"  "bum," 
"cadet,"  "boom,"  "bunch,"  "pants,"  "vest,"  "loafer," 
"jumper,"  "stoop,"  "saleslady,"  "ice  box,"  and  "raise," 
and  with  their  attendant  verbs  and  adjectives.  These  words 
are  used  constantly;  many  of  them  have  quite  crowded  out 
the  corresponding  Yiddish  words.  For  example,  in  gel,  mean- 
ing boy  (it  is  Slavic  loan-word  in  Yiddish),  has  been  obliterated 
by  the  English  word.  A  Jewish  immigrant  almost  invariably 
refers  to  his  "son"  as  his  "boy,"  though  strangely  enough  he 
calls  his  daughter  his  meidcl.  "Die  boys  mit  die  meidlach 
haben  a  good  time!"  is  excellent  American  Yiddish.  In  the 
same  way  fcnster  has  been  completely  displaced  by  window, 
though  tur  (door)  has  been  left  intact.  Tisch  (table)  also 
remains,  but  chair  is  always  used,  probably  because  few  of 
the  Jews  had  chairs  in  the  old  coimtry.  There  the  heinkel,  a 
bench  without  a  back,  was  in  use;  chairs  were  only  for  the 
well-to-do.  "Floor"  has  apparently  prevailed  because  no 
invariable  corresponding  word  was  employed  at  home;  in 
various  parts  of  Russia  and  Poland  a  floor  is  a  dill,  a  poologe, 
or  a  bricke.  So  with  the  ceiling.  There  were  six  different 
words  for  it. 

81 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Yiddish  inflections  have  been  fastened  upon  most  of  these 
loan-words.  Thus,  "er  hat  ilim  abgcfaked"  is,  "he  cheated 
him,"  zuhumt  is  the  American  gone  to  the  bad,  fix'n  is  to 
fix,  usen  is  to  use,  and  so  on.  The  feminine  and  diminu- 
tive sufllx  ke  is  often  added  to  nouns.  Thus,  bluffer  gives 
rise  to  hlufferke  (hypocrite),  and  one  also  notes  dresske, 
haike,  watchke,  and  bummerke.  "Oi!  is  sie  a  blufferke!" 
is  good  American  Yiddish  for  "isn't  she  a  hypocrite!" 
The  suflfix  nick,  signifying  agency,  is  also  freely  applied. 
Allrightnick  means  an  upstart,  an  offensive  boaster,  one  of 
whom  his  fellows  would  say  "he  is  all  right"  with  a 
sneer.  Similarh',  consumptionick  means  a  victim  of  tuber- 
culosis. Other  suffixes  are  chick  and  ige,  the  first  exempli- 
fied in  hoychick,  a  diminutive  of  boy,  and  the  second  in 
next-doorige,  meaning  the  woman  next  door,  an  important 
person  in  Ghetto  social  life.  Some  of  the  loan-words,  of 
course,  undergo  changes  on  Yiddish-speaking  lips.  Thus, 
landlord  becomes  lendler,  lounge  becomes  lunch,  tenant 'be- 
comes tenner,  and  whiskers  loses  its  final  s.  "Wie  gefallt 
dir  sein  whisker.?"  (How  do  you  like  his  beard?)  is  good 
Yiddish,  ironically  intended.  Fellow,  of  course,  changes 
to  the  American  feller,  as  in  "Rosie  hat  schona  feller" 
(Rosie  has  got  a  fellow — i.e.,  a  sweetheart).  Show,  in  the 
sense  of  chance,  is  used  constantly,  as  in  "git  him  a 
show"  (give  him  a  chance).  Bad  boy  is  adopted  bodily, 
as  in  "er  is  a  bad  boy."  To  shut  up  is  inflected  as  one 
word,  as  in  "er  hat  nit  gewolt  shutup'n"  (he  woiJdn't 
shut  up).  To  catch  is  used  in  the  sense  of  to  obtain,  as 
in  "catch'n  a  gmilath  chesed"  (to  raise  a  loan).  Here,  by 
the  way,  gmilath  chesed  is  excellent  biblical  Hebrew.  "To 
bluff,"  unchanged  in  form,  takes  on  the  new  meaning  of  to 
lie;  a  bluffer  is  a  liar.  Scores  of  American  phrases  are  in 
constant  use,  among  them,  "all  right,"  "never  mind,"  "I 
bet  you,"  "no,  sir,"  and  "I'll  fix  you."  It  is  curious  to  note 
that  "sure,  Mike,""  borrowed  by  the  American  vulgate  from 
Irish  English,  has  gone  over  into  American  Yiddish.  Finally, 
to  make  an  end,  here  are  two  complete  and  characteristic 
American-Yiddish  sentences:  "Sie  wet  clean'n  die  rooms, 
scrub'n  dem  floor,  wash'n  die  windows,  dress'n  dem  bov,  und 

82 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

gehn  in  butcher  store  und  in  grocery.     Der  noch  vet  sie 
machen  dinner  und  gehn  in  street  fur  a  walk."  ^ 

"Pennsylvania  Dutch"  is  almost  as  distinct  from  the 
German  of  modern  Germany  as  Yiddish  is.  What  is 
true  of  German  is  likewise  true  of  the  Scandinavian 
languages,  that  the  Scandinavian  press  makes  no  con- 
cessions to  the  barbarisms  of  the  Americanized  language. 
The  effect  of  this  is  that  the  written  and  the  spoken  lan- 
guage are  steadily  drifting  apart.  So  far  as  this  is  true 
the  language  of  the  Scandinavian  press  is  becojming  a 
dead  language. 

In  the  community  where  I  was  brouglit  up  Norse  is  spoken 
almost  exclusively,  but  with  a  vocabulary  freely  mixed  with 
English  words  and  idioms,  the  words  often  mutilated  beyond 
recognition  by  an  American — and,  of  course,  utterly  imintelli- 
gible  to  a  Norseman  recently  from  the  old  country.  In  the 
case  of  many  words  the  younger  generation  cannot  tell 
whether  they  are  English  or  Norse.  I  was  ten  or  twelve  years 
old  before  I  found  out  that  such  words  as  pa  tikkele  (particu- 
lar), stoehel  (stable),  Jens  (fence),  were  not  Norse  but  muti- 
lated English  words.  I  had  often  wondered  that  poleit,  irubbel, 
soppcretcr,  were  so  much  like  the  English  words  polite,  trouble, 
separator.  So  common  is  this  practice  of  borrowing  that  no 
English  word  is  refuseil  admittance  into  this  vocabulary  pro- 
vided it  can  stand  the  treatment  it  is  apt  to  get.  Some  words 
are,  indeed,  used  without  any  appreciable  difference  in  pro- 
nunciation, but  more  generally  the  root,  or  stem,  is  taken, 
and  Norse  inflections  are  added  as  required  by  the  rules  of 
the  language.- 

The  language  of  the  American  Poles,  though  still  etymo- 
logically  Polish,  contains  an  increasing  number  of  American 

1  H.  L.  Mencken,  The  American  Language,  1919,  pp.  155-157.  (A 
footnote  to  this  passage  credits  Abraham  Cahan  for  the  information 
in  this  passage.) 

2  Nils  Flaten,  Notfs  on  American  Norwegian,  u^ilh  a  Vocabulary, 
Dialed  Xotes,  vol.  ii.  Part  ii,  1900,  p.  115. 

83 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

slang  words  which  are  treated  as  roots  and  used  with  Polish 
inflections  and  prefixes,  but  their  syntax  and  literary  appli- 
cation (the  latter  more  easily  influenced  than  etymologj'  by 
clianges  in  the  form  of  thought)  are  growing  more  and  more 
specifically  local,  and  neither  Polish  nor  American.^ 

The  culture  of  the  immigrants  is  also  influenced  by 
American  life  and  tends  to  become,  like  their  speech, 
neither  American  nor  foreign,  but  a  combination  of  both. 

I  might  sum  up  my  general  impression  of  Polish-Ameri- 
can life  in  the  folloTving  way: 

The  fact  that  the  social  atmosphere  here  struck  me  at  once 
as  non-Polish  cannot  be  attributed  to  the  mere  addition  of 
American  elements  to  the  stock  of  Polish  culture  which  the 
immigrants  possessed,  for  after  a  closer  acquaintance  with 
American  life  I  could  not  recognize  the  essential  features  of 
American  culture  in  those  non-Polish  characters  of  Polish- 
American  society,  and  at  this  moment  the  latter  seems  more 
unfamiliar  to  me  than  any  of  the  American  social  circles  I 
know,  which  range  from  Middle  West  university  professors 
to  New  England  fishermen. 

Of  course,  the  contents  of  this  new  "Polish-American" 
culture  are  drawn  chiefly  from  Polish,  but  partly  from  Ameri- 
can life.  For  instance,  the  roots  of  the  language  are  95  per 
cent  Polish,  5  per  cent  American  slang.  But  not  only  are 
those  contents  mixed  and  melted,  but  they  have  received  a 
form  which  is  essentially  original.  Thus,  not  only  do  English 
words  receive  Polish  inflexions,  prefixes,  and  suffixes,  and 
vice  versa — the  etymology  of  Polish  words  is  sometimes  sim- 
pUfied  according  to  English  models — but  the  construction  of 
the  phrase  is  entirely  peculiar;  not  Polish,  but  not  imitated 
from  English  either.  Similarly,  the  social  ceremonial  includes 
some  fragments  of  the  Polish  peasant  ceremonial,  a  few 
notions  imperfectly  borrowed  from  tlie  Polish  upper  classes, 
a  few  American  customs,  all  this  still  very  roughly  combined 
but  already  showing  a  tendency  to  simplification  and 
organization. 


^  Thomas  and  Znaniecki,  The  Polish  Peasant,  vol.  v. 
84 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

These  original  features  of  the  Polish-American  culture 
which  at  this  moment,  in  view  of  the  low  level  of  this  culture 
and  of  its  recent  beginnings,  are  difficult  to  characterize  in 
exact  terms,  have  probably  their  source  in  the  fact  that  the 
immigrants  are  mostly  recruited  from  the  peasant  class  and 
have  here  to  adapt  themselves  to  conditions  entirely  different 
from  the  traditional  ones.  The  peasant  class  has  not  par- 
ticipated much  in  the  higher  Polish  culture  which  has  been, 
and  still  is,  chiefly  the  product  of  the  upper  and  middle 
classes,  and  those  peasants  who  actually  do  participate  in  it 
seldom  emigrate.  Thus  the  peasant  brings  with  him  here 
only  his  own  particular  class  culture,  fully  adapted  to  the 
specific  conditions  of  agricultural  communities;  and  he  is 
forced  to  drop  much  of  it  in  the  new  industrial  environment 
and  to  substitute  something  else  instead.  The  higher  Polish 
culture,  which  a  few  of  the  Polish  intellectual  leaders  try  to 
impose  upon  him,  contains  some  elements  which  he  accepts 
and  adapts  to  his  own  use;  but  most  of  it  has  no  vital  signifi- 
cance for  him,  and  grows  more  and  more  dista,nt  with  the 
progressive  adaptation  to  the  new  circumstances.  Thus,  for 
instance,  the  official  language  in  which  formal  speeches  are 
made,  and  reports  of  institutions  ^\Titten,  is  hollow  and  bom- 
bastic; the  professed  acceptance  of  the  Polisli  national  ideal 
is  with  the  great  majority  purely  superficial,  like  a  Sunday 
dress,  etc.  Art,  particularly  music,  is  perluips  the  only  field 
in  which  Polish  cultural  values  really  mean  sometliing  to  the 
immigrant  colonies.  On  the  other  hand,  of  the  American 
values  only  a  few  are  really  felt  as  important  by  the  immi- 
grant community,  particularly  in  the  first  generation,  and 
these  are  selected  and  reinterpreted  in  a  way  which  often 
makes  them  entirely  unrecognizable.  In  this  case,  the  selec- 
tion being  mavle  freely,  not  under  the  pressure  of  leaders, 
whatever  American  elements  enter  into  the  current  of  Polish- 
American  life  are  vital  at  once,  and  the  second  generation 
acquires  more,  and  understands  and  assimilates  better,  so 
that  there  is  a  gradual  drifting  of  the  whole  Polish-American 
society  toward  American  culture. 

But  at  the  same  time  this  society  continues  to  evolve  in 
its  own  specific  line  and — like  every  living  society — produced 

So 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

in  addilion  to  the  Polish  and  American  values  it  assimilates 
new  and  original  customs,  beliefs,  ways  of  thinking,  institu- 
tions; this  original  productivity  prevents  its  complete  ab- 
sorption in  the  American  milieu  probably  as  much  as  the 
Polish  traditions.  However,  the  fact  that  this  Polish-Ameri- 
can society  is  enveloped  by  a  higher  cultural  milieu  must 
keep  its  own  speciBc  culture  always  on  a  low  level,  since  with 
a  few  exceptions  all  the  individuals  who  grow  able  to  appre- 
ciate and  produce  higher  values  naturally  tend  to  participate 
in  American  life;  they  do  not  lose  contact  with  their  original 
milieu,  but  this  contact  becomes  limited  to  primary -group  re- 
lations, whereas  the  result  of  their  productive  activity,  per- 
formed with  the  help  of  American  secondary  institutions, 
goes  to  American  society.* 

It  is  a  question  whether  the  foreign-language  press  is 
a  brake  or  an  accelerator  in  this  process  of  assimilation. 
The  editor  of  the  Lithuanian  paper  Draugas  has  as- 
serted that  it  is,  on  the  whole,  a  means  of  segregating 
and  isolating  the  foreign-language  communities  and  so 
preventing  assimilation.  Other  editors  have  asserted 
that  it  assists  the  immigrants,  particularly  the  first 
generation,  to  orient  themselves  in  the  American  en- 
vironment and  share  in  the  intellectual,  political,  and 
social  life  of  the  community. 

In  the  Swedish  and  Norwegian  wards  of  such  cities  as 
Chicago,  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  and  Rockiord,  and  in  a  county 
like  Goodhue  in  Minnesota,  where  the  presence  of  large  num- 
bers of  the  foreign  born  makes  the  use  of  the  foreign  tongue 
imperative  in  the  homes,  streets,  markets,  and  places  of  busi- 
ness, and  where  the  news  is  read  in  a  Scandinavian  daily  or 
weekly,  the  tendency  to  keep  the  speech  of  their  ancestors  is 
strong.  The  preacher  and  the  politician  alike  understand 
this,  and  the  literature,  speeches,  and  even  the  music,  in  the 
campaigns  for  personal  and  civic  righteousness  are  presented 

'  From  a  personal  letter  of  Florian  Znaniecki,  Professor  cf  Philos- 
ophy, University  of  Posen. 

86 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ASSIMILATION 

in  no  unknown  tongue,  as  the  theological  seminaries  and 
Scandinavian  departments  in  other  institutions,  and  the 
Swedish  and  Norwegian  political  orators  in  critical  years, 
bear  abundant  witness.' 

The  mere  facts  of  residence  and  employment  give  the 
immigrant  an  interest  in  American  events,  customs, 
ideas.  He  needs  some  familiarity  with  these  in  order  to 
"get  along."  The  foreign-language  press  must  print 
American  news  to  fill  this  need  of  its  readers,  and  by  so 
doing  it  hastens  the  development  of  this  personal  ne- 
cessity into  a  general  interest  in  America. 

Editors  of  the  foreign-language  papers  have  claimed 
that  their  press  is  not  merely  a  medium  for  the  com- 
munication of  news,  thus  initiating  the  immigrant  into 
American  environment,  but  is  likewise  a  means  of 
translating  and  transmitting  to  him  American  ways 
and  American  ideals.^ 

It  is  in  accordance  with  this  conception  of  the  role  of ' 
the  foreign-language  press  that  the  Interracial  Council  • 
purposes  to  Americanize  the  immigrant  by  encouraging 
American  manufacturers  to  advertise  in  foreign-lan- 
guage papers.  "Practical  Americanization  is  the  use  of 
American  things,  and  by  using  them  getting  our  foreign 
people  to  hke  them  and  prefer  them  to  other  things."^ 

It  seems  fairly  clear  that  what  the  foreign-language 
press  actually  does,  whether  or  not  the  editors  desire  it, 
is  to  facilitate  the  adjustment  of  the  foreign  born  to 
the  American  environment,  an  adjustment  that  results 
in  something  that  is  not  American,  at  least  according 

^  C.  H.  Babcock,  "Religious  and  Intellectual  Standpoint,"  in  The 
Scandinavian  Element  in  the  United  States,  pp.  1£3-124. 

2  Frank  Zotti,  "Croatians:  Who  They  Are,  and  How  to  Reach 
Them,"  in  Advertising  and  Selling,  July  5,  1919,  29,  no.  5,  p.  19. 

'  Coleman  T.  DuPont,"The  Interracial  Council:  What  It  Is  and 
Hopes  to  Do,"  in  Advertising  and  Selling,  July  5,  1919,  29,  no.  5,  pp. 
1-2. 

87 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

to  the  standards  of  an  earlier  period,  but  that  is  not 
foreign  either,  according  to  existing  European  standards. 
How  far  the  foreign-Uinguage  press  enables  the 
immigrant  to  participate  in  the  national  life  is  the  ques- 
tion raised  by  a  study  of  Americanization  methods. 
For  it  is  participation  rather  than  submission  or  con- 
formity that  makes  Americans  of  foreign-born  peoples. 


IV 

ENLIGHTENMENT   THROUGH   THE   PRESS 

In  the  Yiddish  press  the  foreign-language  newspaper 
may  be  said  to  have  achieved  form.  All  the  tendencies 
and  all  the  motives,  which  other  divisions  of  the  immi- 
grant press  exhibit  imperfectly,  are  here  outstanding; 
and  manifest.  No  other  press  has  attained  so  complete 
a  simplification  of  the  racial  language,  nor  created  so 
large  a  reading  public.  No  other  foreign-language  press 
has  succeeded  in  reflecting  so  much  of  the  intimate  life 
of  the  people  which  it  represents,  or  reacted  so  power- 
fully upon  the  opinion,  thought,  and  aspiration  of  the 
public  for  which  it  exists.  This  is  particularly  true  of 
the  Yiddish  daily  newspapers  in  New  York  City. 

In  the  course  of  its  brief  history,  from  the  establish- 
ment in  187^2  of  the  first  weekly  paper,  the  Jiidische 
Post,  to  the  present  time,  the  Yiddish  press  in  New 
York  City  has  passed  through  all  the  stages  of  evolu- 
tion represented  by  existing  publications  of  other  lan- 
guage groups.  Because  the  Yiddish  press  exhibits  in 
its  history  and  its  present  form  the  general  trend  in 
other  groups,  it  may  be  regarded  as  typical  of  the  de- 
velopment of  the  foreign-language  press. 

From  187^2  to  1917,  there  appeared  in  New  York  City  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  publications.  These  publications  ap- 
pealed to  a  multitude  of  readers,  running  into  the  hundreds 
of  thousands,  and  holding  the  widest  views  on  all  subjects 
under  the  sun.    For,  unlike  the  Jewish  press  in  English,  the 

89 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

one  printed  in  Yiddish  is  the  only  source  of  information  for 
its  readers,  and  consequently  deals  with  an  enormously  wide 
and  current  range  of  topics.  We  find  in  Yiddish  all  sorts  of 
journals,  trade  and  professional  journals,  humorous  and  seri- 
ous newspapers,  business  journals,  while  every  party  in  New 
York  Jewry,  beginning  with  the  most  orthodox,  and  ending 
with  the  anarchist,  has  an  organ  of  its  own.  We  have  lived 
to  see  even  the  publication  of  a  newspaper  in  Yiddish  dealing 
with  matrimony. 1 

The  first  thing  the  Jews  learned  to  value  and  to  make  free 
use  of  [in  America]  was  the  newspaper.  A  large  number  of 
these  were  started  in  the  first  ten  years  of  the  great  immigra- 
tion,*^ but  most  of  them  have  been  of  short  duration.  In  the 
struggle  for  existence,  the  oldest  newspaper,  that  had  had  its 
beginning  in  1874,  came  out  victorious.  It  bought  out  and 
consolidated  twenty  Jewish  dailies  and  weeklies,  and  now 
appears  in  the  form  of  the  Jewish  Gazette,  as  the  representative 
of  the  more  conservative  faction  of  the  Russian  Jews  of 
America.  But  the  most  active  in  that  field  of  literature  were 
those  who,  at  the  end  of  the  'eighties,  clustered  around  the 
newspapers  that  were  published  in  the  interest  of  the  Jewish 
laborers.  Of  these.  Die  Arbeiter-Zeitung  (the  predecessor  of 
the  Forward)  was  the  most  prominent.* 

FACTORS  IN  SUCCESS 

There  are  several  reasons  why  the  Y'iddish  press  in  New 
York  City,  particularly  in  the  field  of  daily  journalism, 
should  more  quickly  and  more  effectively  than  the  press 
of  any  other  language  group  obtain  a  form  and  con- 
tent, a  technique,  in  short,  adapted  to  the  needs  of  an 
immigrant  community.  It  has  a  large  and  compact 
audience,  drawn  from  many  social  classes.  It  created 
and  monopolizes  a  great  part  of  its  reading  public.  It  is 
printed  in  the  language  commonly  spoken  by  its  readers. 

^Jewish  Communal  Register,  1917-18,  pp.  600-601. 
*  Leo  Wiener,  "Prose  Writers  in  America,"  in  History  of  Yiddish 
Literature  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  1899,  p.  219. 

90 


ENLIGHTENMENT  THROUGH  THE  PRESS 

Newspapers,  particularly  daily  newspapers,  flourish 
only  in  large  cities,  where  there  is  a  possibility  of  big 
circulations.  The  circulation  area  of  the  daily  news- 
paper situated  in  a  large  city,  the  area  within  which 
circulation  is  profitable,  is  a  circle  with  a  radius  of 
fifty  miles.  It  coincides  with  the  area  within  which 
the  railways  sell  commutation  tickets,  to  and  from 
the  metropolis.  This  holds  true  in  general  for  the 
foreign-language  daily  papers,  as  well  as  the  American, 
though  not  to  the  same  extent. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  no  less  than  1,500,000 
Jews,  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  entire  population, 
living  in  New  York  City  to-day.^  Probably  more  than 
two-thirds  of  these  represent  immigrants  from  coun- 
tries where  Yiddish  is  the  mother  language  of  Jews.  A 
population  at  once  so  large,  compact,  and  homogeneous 
— the  largest  immigrant  community  in  existence — offers 
an  exceptional  field  for  newspaper  enterprise. 

The  actual  circulation  of  the  Yiddish  daily  press 
reached  its  highest  point  in  1916,  when  532,787  copies 
of  papers  were  circulated  in  the  circulation  area  of 
which  New  York  City  is  the  center.^  In  the  case  of  the 
Jewish  Daily  Forward^  this  area  included  Boston  and 
Chicago.  The  present  circulation  of  the  Yiddish  dailies 
published  in  New  York  is :  ^ 

Forward 143,716 

Day-Warheit 78,901 

Morning  Journal 75,861 

Daily  News 57,784 

356,262 

The  only  other  foreign-language  publications  in  the 

1  The  Jewish  Communal  Register,  1917-18,  pp.  75-109. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  613. 

3  American  Newspaper  Annual  and  Directory,  1920,  N.  W.  Ayer 
&  Son. 

7  91 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

United  States  that  compare  in  circulation  with  the 
Yiddish,  are:  ^ 

TABLE  m 

Circulation  of  Largest  Foreign-language  Papers 


Italian 

Dailies 

Progresso  Italo-Americano 

BoUettino  della  Sera 

108,137 
GO.OOO 

German 

Weeklies  and  Monthlies 
Frci  Press 

121,749 

Deutsck-Amerikanischer  Farmer. . . 
Westlicher  Herold 

121,712 
58,000 

Deutsche  Ilausfrau 

50,000 

Swedish 

Svenska  Americanaren 

62,282 

Kvinden  og  Hjemviet     .       

52,083 

Polish 

Zgoda 

125,000 

A  mcryka-Ecko 

100,000 

Guiazda  Polarna 

89,785 

Narod  Polski 

80,000 

Spanish 

Pictorial  Revictc  (Spanish  edition) . 

125,000 

The  audience  of  the  New  York  Yiddish  papers  is  not 
only  large  and  compact,  but  also  diversified.  The  Jews 
are  the  only  race  who  migrate  en  masse.  The  immi- 
grants of  other  nationalities — Polish,  Italian,  and  Scan- 
dinavian— are  in  large  part  land-hungry  peasants  who 
come  here  either  to  settle  or  to  make  enough  money  to 
return  to  Europe  and  buy  land.  Among  Jewish  immi- 
grants all  classes  are  represented:  the  village  artisan, 
the  city  merchant,  and  the  intellectual.  Other  lan- 
guage groups  have  to  create  their  intellectuals  from  the 

1  American  Newspaper  Annual  and  Directory,  1920,  N.  W.  Ayer 
&  Son. 

92 


ENLIGHTENMENT  THROUGH  THE  PRESS 

second  generation  of  peasant  parents,  or  accept  such  as 
chance  bestows  upon  them.  Other  language  groups 
bring  to  this  country  the  cultures  of  peasant  peoples. 
The  Jew  brings  with  him  a  civilization.  This  circum- 
stance gives  the  Yiddish  press  a  more  diverse  reading 
public,  more  aspects  of  life  to  use  as  material,  and  more 
journalistic  talent  to  draw  upon. 

Monopoly  of  its  public  has  forced  upon  the  press  a 
many-sided  development. 

The  Yiddish  press  in  New  York  City  differs  in  many  essen- 
tials from  the  other  divisions  of  the  Jewish  press.  First,  it 
has  the  peculiar  distinction  of  having  practically  created  its 
own  reading  public.  Very  few  of  the  people  who  are  now 
readers  of  the  Yiddish  papers  in  New  York  City  had  ever 
read  any  journals  while  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  As 
Shomer,  the  noted  Yiddish  novelist,  created  a  Yiddish- 
reading  public  by  the  publication  of  his  novels,  so  the  Yiddish 
papers  taught  the  East-European  Jew  in  America  to  read 
newspapers  by  coming  out  every  day  for  his  special  benefit. 
Then,  too,  the  readers  of  the  Yiddish  papers,  being  newly 
made  readers,  have  read  very  little  outside,  perhaps,  of  tlie 
Chuinosh  [part  of  the  Bible].  The  Yiddish  newspaper,  there- 
fore, is  their  only  education  and  their  chief  educative  in- 
fluence. Here  may  be  found  the  origin  of  the  make-up  of  the 
Yiddish  paper,  which  is  radically  different  from  that  of  the 
English  newspaper.  AVhile  the  English  newspaper  is  primarily 
organized  for  the  conveying  of  news,  the  Yiddish  paper  must 
also  be  a  literary  journal,  printing  short  stories,  novels,  articles 
on  popular  science,  theology,  and  politics.  It  explains  also 
the  marvelous  influence  of  the  Yiddish  press.  No  other  press 
in  the  world  exercises  such  a  monopoly  on  the  mind-content 
of  its  readers.  While,  for  instance,  it  is  possible  for  a  political 
candidate  in  New  York  City  to  get  elected  in  the  face  of  the 
strong  opposition  of  almost  the  entire  English  press,  the  elec- 
tion of  any  candidate  on  the  East  Side  is  impossible  unless 
the  Yiddish  press  favors  him.  .  .  . 

If  we  add  to  this  the  fact  that  the  Jewish  newspapers  have 
guided  the  Jewish  masses  to  an  understanding  and  apprecia- 

93 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

tion  of  modern  literary  forms,  we  have  the  outstanding  fea- 
tures of  the  character  of  the  Yiddish  press.i 

The  Yiddish  press  is  written  in  the  spoken  language. 
Hebrew  was,  and  is,  the  language  of  Jewish  scholars, 
but  Yiddish  is  the  language  of  the  people.  Like  other 
folk  languages,  Yiddish  has  only  recently  been  made  a 
medium  for  literary  expression. 

Also,  like  other  folk  languages,  it  has  acquired  dia- 
lectical differences  in  the  different  regions  in  which  it 
is  spoken.  The  Yiddish  of  Lithuania  is  different  from 
the  Yiddish  of  Galicia,  and  the  Yiddish  of  the  United 
States  is  different  from  both. 

Yiddish,  which  is  an  English  translation  of  the  German 
word  Judisch,  is  the  name  of  the  language  v.hich  was  spoken 
by  the  Jews  of  Germany  in  the  Middle  Ages,  which  they 
carried  with  them  on  their  forced  emigration  in  the  sixteenth 
century  into  Poland,  Lithuania,  and  Bohemia,  and  which 
now  forms  the  principal  medium  of  intercourse  of  more  than 
6,000,000  people.  Its  basis  is  the  High  German  of  the  middle 
Rhine  district,  which  was  spoken  by  Jew  and  Christian  alike; 
but  it  was  written  in  Hebrew  characters,  and  upon  being 
translated  to  Slavonic  soil  it  absorbed  Russian  and  Polish 
words  and  inflections  from  its  new  environment  and  appro- 
priated many  expressions  and  idioms  from  the  Hebrew  vo- 
cabulary, particularly  those  relating  to  religious  matters, 
while  it  underwent  variations  of  pronunciation  and  orthogra- 
phy in  different  regions,  and  has  even  annexed  a  great  number 
of  English  words  and  phrases  in  its  latter-day  development  in 
England  and  America.^ 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  was 
a  literary  development  of  Yiddish,  the  spoken  language. 
Up  to  that  time  Jewish  literature  and  Jewish  learning 
had  been  confined  almost  wholly  to  Hebrew.  The  Has- 
kala,  or  Enlightenment,  as  the  movement  was  called, 

^Jcvnsh  Communal  Register,  1917-18,  pp.  612-615. 
^  Israel  Cohen,  Jevnsk  Life  in  Modem  Times,  1914,  pp.  242-243. 
94 


ENLIGHTENIVIENT  THROUGH  THE  PRESS 

was  part  of  the  "reformation"  begun  by  Moses  INIen- 
delsohn,  which  resulted  in  the  Jews  of  Germany  giving 
up  their  former  isolation  and  their  Judeo-German  dia- 
lect, in  order  to  participate  in  the  larger  cultural  life  of 
the  nation.  Although  it  did  not  aim  directly  at  the 
revival  of  the  folk  speech,  the  Haskala  encouraged  its 
use  for  literary  purposes,  because  it  was  only  through 
tlie  medium  of  the  vernacular  press  that  it  was  possible 
to  educate  the  masses  of  the  people.  However,  it  was 
not  until  the  'sixties  that  books  of  instruction,  histories 
and  geographies,  for  the  most  part,  were  first  printed  in 
Yiddish.  The  use  of  the  vernacular  in  the  American- 
Yiddish  press  is  the  basic  reason  for  its  tremendous 
popularity  and  influence. 

HISTORY   OF  THE   YIDDISH   PRESS 

The  earliest  Yiddish  papers  published  in  America,  like 
Bernstein's  Post  (1872)  and  the  Jewish  Gazette,  were,  to 
some  extent,  German  papers  printed  in  Hebrew  char- 
acters. 

Many  years  before  the  great  immigration  of  the  Jews  had 
begun,  there  was  a  sufficiently  large  community  of  Russian 
Jews  resident  in  New  York  to  support  a  newspaper.  In  the 
'seventies  there  existed  there  a  weekly,  the  Jewiah  Gazette, 
and  there  \\as  at  least  one  bookstore,  that  of  the  firm  of  Kan- 
trowitz,  that  furnished  the  colony  with  Judeo-German  reading 
matter.  .  .  .  Whether  they  wished  so  or  not,  they  [Lithuanians 
and  Polish]  were  rapidly  being  amalgamated,  on  the  one  side 
by  the  German  Jews,  on  the  other  by  the  American  people  at 
large.  !Many  tried  to  hiile  their  nationality,  and  even  their 
religion,  since  the  Russian  Jews  did  not  stand  in  good  repute 
then.  The  vernacular  was  only  used  as  the  last  resort  of 
those  who  had  not  succeeded  in  acquiring  a  ready  use  of  the 
English  language,  and  its  approach  to  the  literary  German 
was  even  greater  than  that  attempted  by  Dick  at  about  the 
[Same  time  in  Russia.    However,  English  words  had  begun  to 

95 


THE  EVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

creep  in  freely  and  to  modify  the  Germanized  dialect.  It  is 
evident  that  the  seeds  of  the  American  Judeo-German,  as  it 
may  now  be  found  in  the  majority  of  words  printed  in  New 
York,  had  been  sown  even  then.  The  proneness  to  use  a  large 
number  of  German  words  is  derived  from  the  time  when  the 
smaller  community  had  been  laboring  to  pass  into  American 
Judaism  by  means  of  the  German-Jewish  congregations.' 

Jewish  immigration  from  Russia  prior  to  1881  had 
been  a  trickling  stream.  After  that  time  it  became  a 
flood.  It  was  the  struggle  of  the  Yiddish  press,  to  find 
the  most  direct  and  simplest  means  of  reaching  the  in- 
telligence of  these  new  Jewish  immigrants,  that  has 
done  most  to  simplify  the  language  of  the  press  and 
make  it  popular  with  the  masses  of  the  people. 

The  Socialists  were  the  first  among  the  Jewish  immi- 
grants to  conceive  the  idea  of  a  press  that  would  reach 
and  interest  the  masses  of  the  people.  Among  those 
who  sought  refuge  in  America  in  the  early  'eighties  were 
a  number  of  Jewish  students  who  had  participated  in 
the  revolutionary  agitation  that  preceded  the  assassi- 
nation of  Czar  Alexander  II,  in  March,  1881.  It  had 
been  the  program  of  the  revolutionists  to  educate  the 
masses  of  the  people,  "to  go  in  among  the  people,"  as 
they  termed  it,  and  so  prepare  them  for  the  international 
revolution  which  they,  after  the  manner  of  millenarians 
everywhere,  believed  was  impending. 

The  yoimg  Jew  who  mingled  with  intelligent  Russians  in 
the  brief  "golden  period"  of  the  reign  of  Alexander  II  ac- 
quired the  impulsiveness,  the  shallow  intellectuality,  and  the 
disregard  of  practical  results  which  characterize  the  Russian 
idealist.  He  was  a  revolutionary  agitator,  and  more  anxious 
to  spread  his  views  among  the  common  people  than  the  aris- 
tocratic viaskil.  The  latter,  even  unto  this  day,  prefers  to 
speak  German.  .  .  .  But  the  newly  arrived  radical,  who  was 

'Leo  Wiener,  "Prose  Writers  in  America,"  in  Ilistory  of  Yiddish 
Literature  in  the  Nineieenih  Century,  pp.  216-217. 

96 


ENLIGHTENMENT  THROUGH  THE  PRESS 

eager  to  gain  adherents  to  his  Socialistic  or  anarchistic  ideas, 
aimed  at  popularity,  and  there  soon  arose  a  number  of  writers 
and  orators  who  used  a  Yiddish  so  plain  that  even  the  least 
intelligent  of  the  immigrants  could  easily  understand.  The 
masses  were  thus  given  an  opportunity  to  acquire  a  taste  for 
reading  and  for  listening  to  political  and  economic  discussions, 
which  was  an  important  step  toward  Americanization,  though 
the  radicals,  as  cosmopolitans,  hardly  strove  for  such  results. 
An  equally  meritorious,  though  likewise  unintentional,  act 
was  the  effort  of  these  radicals  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of 
their  followers  the  necessity  of  naturalization.  The  number 
of  Russians  who  became  citizens  under  those  influences  ex- 
ceeds by  thousands,  probably  even  by  tens  of  thousands,  the 
diminishing  number  of  votes  which  are  now  cast  in  the  so- 
called  Ghetto  districts  for  tlie  Socialist  parties.* 

Although  there  was  at  this  time  a  popular  literature 
in  Yiddish  among  the  Jews  in  Russia,  political  discus- 
sion was  in  Russian.  There  were  sermons  in  Yiddish, 
but  no  one  had  ever  heard  a  political  speech  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  people.  The  masses  of  the  Jewish  immi- 
grants knew  nothing  of  Socialism  or  the  labor  move- 
ment, just  as  they  knew  nothing  of  modern  science  or 
modern  political  thought.  All  these  high  matters  were 
tlie  special  concern  of  a  few  intellectuals  who  had  been 
permitted  to  attend  a  Russian  university. 

On  July  27,  1882,  occurred  the  first  public  meeting  of  the 
Russian  refugees.  For  the  first  time  they  had  an  opportunity 
to  enjoy  freedom  of  speech,  and  on  this  sweltering  day  five 
hundred  of  them  jammed  to  the  walls  the  little  Golden  Rule 
Hall  on  Rivington  Street.  The  speeches  were  in  Russian  and 
German,  and  many  could  not  understand  either  of  these  lan- 
guages, but  they  were  none  the  less  enthusiastic.  Schevitz, 
editor  of  the  German  Volkszeitung,  Nelke,  a  German  anar- 
chist, and  A.  Cahan,  one  of  the  Russian  students,  addressed 
the  meeting. 

*  P.  \Yiernik,  "Intellectual  Life  of  the  Russian  Jew,"  in  New  Era, 
.February,  1904,  pp.  38-39. 

97 


THE  IMMIGR.\NT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

It  was  Cahan  at  this  meeting  who  first  suggested  the  idea 
of  using  the  Yiddish  jargon  to  propagate  Socialism  among  the 
Jews.  The  suggestion  was  ridiculed.  Who  was  there  that 
could  make  speeches  in  Yiddish?  Cahan  volunteered  to  do  it; 
and  the  following  week,  in  the  anarchists'  hall  on  Sixth  Street, 
the  first  Yiddish  speech  was  delivered.  After  that  many 
Jewish  meetings  were  held,  but  for  a  long  time  Cahan  con- 
tinued to  be  the  only  Yiddish  speaker. 

The  meetings  of  the  "Propaganda  Verein"  were  marked  by 
the  greatest  enthusiasm.  The  right  of  free  assemblage  was  a 
new  experience  to  most  of  the  Jews;  but  still  more  new  and 
strange  were  the  speeches  in  the  mother  tongue.  The  doctrines 
of  Socialism,  which  formerly  the  educated  alone  could  understand, 
were  now  to  be  made  comprehensible  to  the  ordinary  immigrant. 
A  cry  went  up  among  the  students:  "In  the  mother  tongue 
must  we  agitate  among  the  Jews."  And  for  a  few  months 
there  was  a  great  activity  in  the  "Propaganda  Verein."  ^ 

It  was  not,  as  it  turned  out,  an  easy  matter  to  carry 
on  political  propaganda  in  the  language  of  a  people 
who  had  had  no  political  experience.  There  were  no 
words  in  Yiddish  in  which  to  express  the  formulas  of 
Marxian  Socialism.  The  scholastic  discussions  of  the 
Russian  students  did  not  hold  the  interest  of  the  com- 
mon people,  eager  as  they  were  for  the  knowledge  which 
the  new  doctrines  promised  them. 

In  one  respect  the  Hebrew  and  the  Yiddish  writers  were 
struggling  with  the  same  difficulty — that  of  making  them- 
selves understood  to  the  largest  possible  number  of  readers 

.  .  .  The  Hebrew  writer  came  here  with  a  style  that  may  be 
termed  aristocratic,  and  the  Yiddish  writer,  who  had  to  begin 
everything  anew,  had  hardly  any  style.  It  was  all  easy  as 
far  as  the  work  of  the  agitator  was  concerned;  denimciations 
and  accusations  are  always  easily  understood,  and  this  alone 
is  one  of  the  reasons  of  their  popularity.  But  when  it  came 
to  the  parts  where  the  writer  wanted  to  describe  or  to  explain, 

1  Wm.  M.  Leiserson,  unpublished  thesis  on  Jewish  Labor  Movement 
in  New  York,  1908. 


ENLIGHTENMENT  THROUGH  THE  PRESS 

especially  in  the  scientific  or  semiscientific  articles  which  a 
public  that  had  no  systematic  schooling  so  eagerly  devoured, 
the  language  of  most  of  the  writers  was  inadequate  and  not 
easily  understood.* 

In  June,  1886,  the  Je^nsh  Workmen's  Society  started 
the  New  York  (Jewish)  Volkszeilung.  Two  young  men 
who  had  been  working  in  a  tailor  shop  had  saved  up 
enough  money  to  start  it.  They  said  they  "wished  to 
dedicate  their  capital  to  the  emancipation  of  the  work- 
ers." It  was  intended  for  workingraen,  but,  like  most 
other  papers  printed  for  the  laboring  men  at  that  time 
and  later,  it  was  too  hard  for  them  to  read.  The  paper 
lasted  three  years.  In  the  same  year  Abraham  Cahan 
and  Doctor  Rayersky,  a  fellow  enthusiast,  started  the 
Neue  Zeit.  It  ran  through  four  issues  and  failed.  Of 
this  paper  Cahan 's  fellow  intellectuals  said:  "Your 
paper  contains  good  material,  but  the  language  in  which 
it  is  written  is  awful.  It  is  so  shamefully  simple  that  a 
tailor  can  understand  it." 

In  January,  1890,  the  United  Hebrew  Trades  founded 
the  Arbciter  Zeitung.  The  proletariat  was  struggling 
toward  a  new  paper  they  could  understand. 

In  the  first  volumes  of  the  Arheiter  Zeitung  all  the  reading 
matter  was  made  very  elementary.  As  the  editor  put  it,  the 
food  was  "chewed  over,  as  for  a  baby,"  and  then  given  to  the 
undeveloped  workman.  Grarlually  his  intelligence  arose,  and 
his  progress  could  be  measured  by  the  character  of  his  paper. 
Every  year  the  reading  matter  and  the  style  of  the  Arheiter 
Zeitung  improved,  and  every  year  the  Jewish  workman  was 
becoming  more  intelligent.  Soon  it  was  foimd  necessary  to 
give  him  a  more  substantial  literature  than  a  weekly  paper 
could  afford,  and  in  1892  was  founded  the  Zukunjt  (Future), 
a  monthly  scientific  and  literary  magazine.  The  Arheiter 
Zeitung  and  Zukunft  taught  the  Jew  that  there  was  no  Jewish 
question.    For  the  workers  of  whatever  nationality  there  was 

*  P.  Vi'iernik,  History  of  the  Jews  of  America,  1912,  p.  303. 
99 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

only  the  labor  question.  They  must  unite  on  two  fields.  On 
the  economic  field  they  must  fight  with  trade-unions  to  im- 
prove their  present  conditions.  On  the  political  field  they 
must  unite  with  the  Socialist  Labor  party  to  overthrow  the 
existing  system  of  society  and  inaugurate  a  co-op>erative 
commonwealth.! 

In  the  same  year  in  which  the  Arbeiter  Zeitung  was 
established  by  the  Socialists,  the  Freie  Arbeiter  Stimme 
(Voice  of  the  Free  Workman)  was  started  by  the  Jew- 
ish anarchists.  This  paper,  which  was  discontinued  for 
a  time,  was  and  is  the  peculiar  organ  of  the  Yiddish 
intellectual.  To  be  able  to  say  "I  have  written  for 
Yanovsky"  is  a  literary  passport  for  a  Yiddish  writer, 
for  of  the  thousands  of  manuscripts  which  the  editor 
receives  every  year,  some  of  which  he  criticizes  pithily 
in  his  "Letter  Box,"  he  accepts  only  those  which  are 
not  only  excellent  in  themselves  but  which  are  a  prom- 
ise of  more,  of  equal,  or  greater  excellence. 

It  was  not  until  1894  that  the  first  Socialist  daily. 
Das  Abendblatt,  was  published.  This  was,  in  fact,  merely 
the  Arbeiter  Zeitung  in  another  form.  It  was  not  until 
the  appearance  of  the  Forward,  however,  and  not  until 
Abraham  Cahan  returned  from  his  five  years'  appren- 
ticeship upon  an  American  daily  paper,  that  the  Jewish 
Socialists  succeeded  in  creating  a  newspaper  that  the 
masses  of  the  Jewish  people,  and  even  women,  could 
read.  The  Forward,  under  Abraham  Cahan,  may  be 
said  to  be  modeled  on  the  "yellow  journal"  of  the 
period.  It  was,  however,  less  a  copy  than  an  applica- 
.tion  of  methods.  The  Forward  is  not  only  unquestion- 
lably  American,  but  also  unquestionably  unique.  Its 
>  immediate  and  remarkable  popularity  M''as  an  indica- 
tion that  the  Jewish  daily  press  had  finally  arrived. 


!  Wm.  M.  Leiserson,  unpublished  thesis  on  Jewish  Labor  Movement 
in  New  York,  1908. 

100 


ENLIGHTENMENT  THROUGH  THE  PRESS 

Forward  was  bom  at  a  Socialist  ball  fifteen  years  ago,  when 
Cahan  and  others  passed  the  hat  around  to  start  a  Yiddish 
Socialist  daily,  and  collected  eight  hundred  dollars.  A  co- 
operative publishing  company.  The  Forward  Association,  was 
formed  almost  on  the  spot.  This  association  pledged  itself  to 
publish  the  paper  and  to  devote  whatever  profit  accrued  to 
the  furthering  of  Socialism  and  of  Foncard.  To-daj',  Fonvard 
and  its  building  bring  many  thousands  of  dollars  a  year  profit, 
not  a  cent  of  which  goes  as  dividen<ls  to  anyone  or  for  any 
other  than  these  purposes.  But  as  late  as  ten  years  ago  the 
Fonvard  was  not  only  deep  in  debt,  but  also  dying. 

Its  board  of  managers,  in  despair,  appealed  to  Cahan  to 
come  and  take  hold.  At  that  time  Cahan  was  making  a  name 
for  himself  as  special  writer  on  the  Sun,  the  Evening  Post,  the 
Commercial  Advertiser,  and  other  papers.  His  stories  of 
Jewish  life  were  appearing  in  the  first-class  magazines.  His 
novel  of  East  Side  life,  Yeld,  had  been  acclaimed  by  William 
Dean  Howells  and  other  critics  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic 
as  a  masterly  bit  of  realism.  His  White  Terror  and  lied,  and 
Imported  Bridegroom,  and  Other  Stories,  were  bringing  him  a 
widening  English-reading  public.  But  at  the  call  from  his 
comrades  lie  went  back  to  the  East  Side  and  threw  himself 
into  the  task  of  reviving  the  dying  Yiddish  daily. 

He  foimd  the  circulation  barely  six  thousand,  the  columns  (/  f 

full  of  abstract  economic  controversy,  the  tone  bitter,  and  an  j  i 

exaggerated  air  of  the  "highbrow"  even  for  the  East  Side,  ,    j 

where  Tolstoi,  Spencer,  Darwin,  and  similar  literature  can  ,' 

be  bought  on  pushcarts.  Worst  of  all,  it  was  wTitten  in  a 
highly  intellectualized,  Germanized  Yiddish,  which  only  the 
intelligentsia  can  understand  fully.  /*  , 

Cahan  at  once  changed   its  language  to  the  colloquial,         //  / 
Americanized  Yiddish  spoken  in  the  street,  the  shops,  the 
factories,  and  the  homes  of  the  people  it  desired  to  reach. 
"And  if  you  want  the  public  to  read  this  paper  and  to  assimi-      //  j 
late  S(x;ialism,"  he  told  his  staff,  "you've  got  to  write  of  things      ' 
of  everyday  life,  in  terms  of  what  they  see  and  feel  and  find 
all  about  them." 

So  he  banished  the  long  abstract  essays  on  economic  de- 
terminism and  the  class  struggle,  and  presented  these  things 

101 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

in  the  form  of  short  actual  stories  and  news  from  the  shop, 
the  street,  the  market,  and  the  home.  The  East  Side  began 
to  read  about  itself  in  the  news  columns  of  Foruard.  It  found 
its  homely,  everyday  problems  discussed  trenchantly,  yet 
sympathetically,  on  the  editorial  page  by  Cahan,  and  read 
advice  to  the  lovelorn  in  a  department  conducted  by  Rose 
Pastor,  who  afterward  added  Stokes  to  her  name. 

Within  eight  weeks  after  Cahan  had  ta,ken  hold  of  Fonvard 
its  circulation  trebled.  Within  two  or  three  years  it  began  to 
pay  a  profit;  and  now  (1912)  it  has  a  daily  circulation  of  over 
130,000.1 

Cahan  got  his  conception  of  journalism  from  his  ex- 
perience as  a  reporter  for  the  American  press. 

AMien  I  came  back  to  the  Yiddish  press  in  1897  to  become 
editor  of  the  Vorwdrts,  after  having  worked  on  the  Globe  for 
five  years,  I  had  learned  a  lot  about  journalism.  It  was 
through  my  experience  on  the  Globe  that  I  really  learned  to 
know  life.  Lincoln  Steffens,  who  was  city  editor,  asked  me 
what  I  wanted  to  do.  I  said  that  I  wanted  to  learn  every- 
thing about  American  journalism  from  top  to  bottom,  and  that 
I  wanted  to  know  life.  So  he  sent  me  to  the  police  court, 
where  I  saw,  not  the  smug,  complacent  side  of  life,  but  mur- 
ders, robberies,  and  scandals.  I  interviewed  Bowery  thugs 
and  United  States  presidents.  I  came  to  know  all  sides  of 
American  life.  \Mien  I  came  back  to  the  Yiddish  press  I  was 
able  to  look  at  it  from  a  distance.^ 

Although  Yiddish  is  a  folk  language  and  has  only 
recently  become  the  vehicle  of  a  considerable  literature, 
it  has  already  brought  into  existence  a  school  of  writers 
vrho  have  sought  to  maintain  its  purity  and  so  create 
a  distinction  between  the  written  and  the  spoken 
language. 

Cahan  has  been,  from  the  outset  of  his  career  as  a 
WTitcr,  the  most  conspicuous  opponent  of  this  move- 

1  New  York  Evening  Post,  July  27,  1912. 

*  Abraham  Cahan,  editor  of  the  Jewish  Daily  Forward  (interview). 
102 


ENLIGHTEN]MENT  THROUGH  THE  PRESS 

ment.  He  has  introduced  phonetic  spelling  and  has 
been  willing  to  use  any  form  of  the  jargon  in  which  he 
could  make  himself  most  easily  and  effectively  under- 
stood. There  are  in  Yiddish,  as  spoken  in  America,  a 
great  many  bastard  expressions — English  words  with 
German  endings.  He  has  accepted  them  all.  When  a 
German  word  is  pronounced  one  way  in  Yiddish  and 
spelled  in  another  way  in  German,  he  has  spelled  it  as 
it  was  spoken.  This  is  shocking  to  the  Jewish  intel- 
lectual, who,  knowing  German,  naturally  wants  to  pre- 
serve the  original  and  etymological  form  of  the  word. 
However,  this  practice  has  increased  newspaper  circu- 
lation and  made  the  acquisition  of  a  WTitten  speech 
simpler  for  the  common  man.  It  is  a  principal  reason 
for  the  unexampled  success  of  the  Yiddish  papers  in 
the  United  States,  and  for  the  high  level  of  intelligence 
among  the  masses  of  the  Yiddish-speaking  people  in 
New  York. 

When  Cahan  took  charge  of  the  Forward  he  immedi- 
ately simplified  its  language. 

The  first  thing  that  I  realized  was  that  the  Vorwdrta  could 
not  reach  the  masses  because  it  was  using  a  language  they 
did  not  imderstand,  a  kind  of  liighbrow  Yiddish  with  a  lot 
of  Hebrew  and  German  and  Russian  terms  that  only  the  edu- 
cated man  could  understand.  Yiddish  is  a  language  of  market 
women — the  imported  words  are  just  like  Latin  and  Greek. 
Of  course,  it  is  difficult  to  express  Marxian  doctrines  in  simple 
terms,  but  what  was  the  use  of  saying  "proletariat"  and 
"bourgeoisie,"  when  you  could  simply  say  the  "worker"  or 
*Hhe  wealthy  classes"? 

The  first  thing  that  I  insisted  on  was  that  everything  in  the 
paper  should  be  written  in  what  I  calletl  Yiddish- Yiddish. 
That  meant,  not  only  cutting  out  the  unfamihar  German, 
Russian,  and  Hebrew  words,  but  using  all  the  American  words 
that  every  Jew  in  London  or  New  York  knows.  I  can  never 
understand  why  Yiddish  writers  refuse  to  use  the  American 

103 


THE  IMMIGR.\NT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

words,  as  some  of  them  do.  S.  Nigger,  e.g.,  who  has  just 
come  over  from  Warsaw,  has  already  learned  the  American- 
Yiddish  words — every  Jew  learns  them  in  the  first  month 
that  he  is  over  here — but  he  is  a  purist  and  will  not  use  them. 
Such  men  are  perfectly  willing  to  use  the  Polish  words  that 
were  adopted  into  the  Yiddish  two  or  three  centuries  ago, 
and  I  do  not  see  how  they  can  consistently  refuse  to  use 
American  words;  the  process  of  adoption  has  been  the 
same. 

AMth  the  Zionist  movement  there  has  been  an  increasing 
tendency  to  use  Hebrew  words.  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
Hebrew  used  in  the  Tag  (a  Yiddish  daily),  and  men,  when 
they  write  serious  articles,  very  readily  fall  back  on  Hebrew 
words.  I  have  just  been  in  Europe  for  ten  months  and  while 
I  was  away  my  stafif  had  a  great  time.  They  used  all  the 
Hebrew  words  they  wanted  to.  For  instance,  I  found  when  I 
came  back  they  were  all  using  the  word  "Mafeetz."  Will  you 
believe  it,  I  didn't  even  know  what  "Mafeetz"  meant.^  They 
told  me  that  it  was  the  same  thing  as  "Zustand."  Now  every 
Jew  understands  what  "Zustand"  is,  so  I  told  them  to 
use  it  even  if  it  was  a  German  word.  The  pure  Yiddish 
is  German. 

I  am  not  a  nationalist.  I  don't  care  about  Hebrew  words; 
I  don't  even  care  about  Yiddish  words.  I  would  just  as  soon 
use  English  if  everyone  could  understand.  In  this  respect  I 
am  different  from  most  of  the  men  in  my  office.  My  assistant, 
for  instance,  is  a  wonderful  man  and  a  great  Talmud  scholar. 
I  think  he  would  have  made  a  great  metaphysician.  Of 
course,  these  Talmud  scholars  on  our  staff  are  fond  of  using 
Hebrew  words,  and  so  are  some  of  the  people  who  read  the 
Vonodrts.'^ 

Changes  in  the  written  language  which  bring  it  closer 
to  the  common  speech  are  just  as  significant  as  those 
which  simplify  speech  itself.  \Yhen  literature  is  WTitten 
in  the  vernacular  it  becomes  a  possession  of  the  com- 
mon man.  This  is  what  gives  significance  to  the  Yid- 
dish press  in  America.    It  has  been  the  vehicle  for  the 

^  Abraham  Cahan,  editor  of  the  Jewish  Daily  Forward  (interview). 
104 


ENLIGHTENMENT  THROUGH  THE  PRESS 

enlightenment  of  men  and  women  who,  until  it  arrived, 
had  no  outlook  upon  the  world. 


EDUCATION   OF  THE   READING   PUBLIC 

It  is  not  possible  to  estimate  the  changes  which  the 
appearance  of  a  genuinely  popular  press  has  had  upon 
the  life  of  the  Jewish  immigrant.  As  long  as  Hebrew 
was  the  only  language  of  instruction,  the  masses  of  the 
Jewish  people  remained  imprisoned  within  the  walls 
of  the  Talmud,  knowing  nothing  of  modern  science  or 
modern  thought.  There  are  still  learned  rabbis  on  the 
East  Side  in  New  York,  men  who  have  devoted  the 
best  years  of  their  life  to  sharpening  their  wits  on  Tal- 
mudic  casuistry,  who  believe  that  the  earth  moves 
around  the  moon.  An  anecdote  is  related  of  a  learned 
doctor  who  refused  to  witness  the  flight  of  an  airplane 
because  it  was  WTitten  in  the  Talmud  that  man's  sphere 
was  the  earth,  the  heavens  being  the  abode  of  celestial 
beings.    Cahan  said  of  one  of  his  co-workers: 

When  he  started  to  work  with  me  he  didn't  know  what  the 
equator  was.  Now  if  you  take  a  German  or  Irish  teamster — 
not  a  very  intelligent  man,  surely — and  you  speak  of  the 
equator,  or  the  North  Pole,  or  of  flying  across  the  Atlantic 
and  stopping  at  certain  islands,  he  understands  you.  He  has 
been  in  a  schoolroom  and  has  seen  maps.  But  a  Jewish  in- 
tellectual does  not  know  what  the  equator  is.  These  intel- 
lectuals can  discuss  the  most  abstruse  problems  in  philosophy, 
but  they  know  nothing  about  geography;  that  is  Gentile 
learning.! 

Jewish  scholars  had  been  sitting  for  centuries  in  the 
synagogues,  by  the  light  of  sacred  candles,  poring  over 
the  past,  brooding  over  the  inner  life  of  the  race.    Upon 

^  Abraham  Cahan,  editor  of  the  Jewish  Daily  Forward  (interview). 
105 


THE  EVI^IIGR^VNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

this  spectacle  the  common  man  looked  with  awe  and 
reverence. 

The  popular  press  turned  the  eyes  of  the  Jew  out- 
ward upon  the  world.  The  press  was  a  window  on  life. 
The  new  press  was,  to  be  sure,  Socialistic,  but  more 
interesting  to  the  masses  of  the  people  than  its  political 
philosophy  was  the  information  it  gave  them  about  life, 
about  the  physical  universe,  and  the  world  of  human 
nature  about  them.  There  had  arisen  at  this  time  a 
school  of  writers  who  devoted  themselves  to  the  exposi- 
tion of  science  in  the  language  of  the  people.  There 
were  a  number  of  these  popular  scientific  T\Titers. 
Abraham  Cahan  was  one.  J.  Rombro,  who  wTote  under 
the  name  of  "Philip  Kranz,"  was  another.  Rombro, 
like  Cahan,  was  a  Russian  fugitive.  In  London  he  met 
Morris  Winchefsky,  the  Yiddish  poet  and  wTiter.  Win- 
^  ^chefsky,  who  was  at  that  time  editing  the  Polish  Jew, 
;  -the  first  Yiddish  Socialist  paper  to  be  published  in 
England,  asked  him  to  WTite  a  description  of  the  riots 
against  the  Jews  in  Russia.  "  It  was  a  hard  job  for  me," 
he  wrote  to  Leo  Wiener,  "and  it  took  me  a  long  time  to 
do  it.  I  never  thought  of  writing  in  the  Jewish  jargon, 
but  fate  ordered  otherwise,  and,  contrary  to  all  my 
aspirations,  I  am  now  nothing  more  than  a  poor  jargon 
journalist."  To  which  the  author  of  the  History  of 
Yiddish  Literature  adds  this  comment: 

The  author's  evil  plight  has,  however,  been  the  people's 
gain,  for  to  his  untiring  activity  is  due  no  small  amount  of 
the  enlightenment  that  they  have  received  in  the  last  ten 
years.  ^ 

Another  successful  popularizer  of  science  has  been 
Abner  Tannenbaum,  who  translated  the  works  of  Jules 
Verne.  Later  he  WTote  stories  of  his  own,  which  have 
the  merit  of  being  based  on  scientific  fact.    The  popu- 

1  Leo  Wiener,  History  of  Yiddish  Literature,  1899,  pp.  223-224. 
106 


enlightenjnient  through  the  press 

lar  novel  became,  for  the  Yiddish  press,  what  it  has 
since  become  for  the  Saturday  Evening  Post,  a  medium 
of  instruction.^ 

The  most  picturesque  figure  among  the  popular 
writers  in  Yiddish  is  Shaike\-itch,  the  man  who  popu- 
larized the  heften.  The  hejten  were  unsigned  novels 
published  in  book  form,  that  had  an  immense  vogue 
until  the  daily  papers  began  publishing  them  serially. 
The  competition  of  daily  papers,  which  sometimes  pub- 
lished as  many  as  five  or  six  stories  at  a  time,  destroyed 
the  vogue  of  the  heften. 

Shaikevitch  is  the  author  of  interminable  unsigned  nov- 
els, which  are  pubHshed  in  daily  installments  in  the  East  Side 
newspapers.    He  is  so  prolific  that  he  makes  a  good  living.  .  .  . 

He  was  born  in  Minsk,  Russia,  of  orthodox  Jewish  parents. 
He  began  to  write  when  he  was  twenty  years  old — at  first  in 
pure  Hebrew,  scientific  and  historical  articles.  He  also  WTote 
a  Hebrew  novel  called  The  Victim  of  the  Infjuisition,  to  which 
the  Russian  censor  objecteil  on  the  ground  that  it  dealt  with 
religious  subjects. 

Compelled  to  make  his  own  living,  young  Shaikevitch, 
whose  nom  de  plume  has  always  been  "Shomer,"  began  to 
write  popular  novels  in  the  common  jargon,  in  Yiddish.  At 
that  time  the  Jews  in  Russia  were,  even  more  tlian  now,  shut 
up  in  their  own  communities,  knew  nothing  of  European  cul- 
ture, had  an  education,  if  any,  exclusively  Hebraic  and 
mediaeval,  and  were  outlandish  to  an  extreme.  The  educated 
read  only  Hebrew,  and  the  uneducated  did  not  read  at  all. 
Up  to  that  time,  or  until  shortly  before  it,  the  Jew  thought 
that  nothing  but  holy  teaching  could  be  printed  Ln  Hebrew 
type.  A  man  named  Dick,  however,  a  kind  of  forerunner  of 
Shaikevitch,  had  begun  to  write  secular  stories  in  Yiddish. 
They  were  popular  in  form,  intended  for  the  ignorant  popu- 
lace who  never  read  at  all.  Shaikevitch  followed  in  Dick's 
lines,  and  made  a  great  success. 

He  has  wTitten  over  one  hundred  and  sixty  stories,  and  for 

1  Leo  Wiener,  History  of  Yiddish  Literature,  1899,  pp.  222-223. 
8  107 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

many  years  he  was  the  great  popular  Yiddish  writer  in 
Russia.  The  people  would  read  nothing  but  "Shomer's" 
works.  .  .  . 

When  Shaikevitch,  or  "Shomer,"  himself  describes  the 
purpose  and  characters  of  his  work,  he  talks  as  follows: 

"My  works  are  partly  pictures  of  the  life  of  the  Jews  in  the 
Russian  villages  of  fifty  years  ago,  and  partly  novels  about 
the  old  history  of  the  Jews.  Fifty  years  ago  the  Jews  were 
more  fanatical  than  they  are  now.  They  did  nothing  but 
study  the  Talmud,  pray  and  fast,  wear  long  beards  and  wigs, 
and  look  like  monkeys.  I  satirized  all  this  in  my  novels.  I 
tried  to  teach  the  ignorant  Jews  that  they  were  ridiculous, 
that  they  ought  to  take  hold  of  modern,  practical  life  and 
give  up  all  that  was  merely  formal  and  absurd  in  the  old 
customs.  I  taught  them  that  a  pious  man  might  be  a  hypo- 
crite, and  that  it  is  better  to  do  good  than  to  pray.  My  works 
had  a  {^reat  effect  in  modernizing  and  educating  the  ignorant 
Jews.  In  my  stories  I  pictured  how  the  Jewish  boy  might 
go  out  from  his  little  village  into  the  wide.  Gentile  world  and 
make  something  of  himself.  In  the  last  twenty-five  years 
the  ciews,  owing  to  my  books,  have  lost  a  great  deal  of  their 
fanaticism.  At  that  time  they  had  nothmg  but  my  books  to 
read,  and  so  my  satire  had  a  great  effect."  * 

INTELLECTUAL  FERMENT 

Through  the  medium  of  the  popular  press  the  learning 
which  had  been  the  privilege  of  the  few  became  the 
common  possession  of  the  many.  The  intellectual  fer- 
ment which  this  first  contact  with  modern  science  pro- 
duced spread  far  and  wide,  and,  undermined  by  the 
new  ideas  and  the  unrest  thus  created,  the  whole  struc- 
ture of  Jewish  life  crumbled.  The  younger  generation, 
particularly  the  more  ardent  and  intellectual  among 
them,  went  over  to  Socialism  en  masse.  Socialism  gave 
the  common  man  a  point  of  view,  at  any  rate,  from 

^  Hutchins  Hapgood,  "Odd  Characters,"  in  The  Spirit  of  the  Ghetto, 
chap.  X,  pp.  274-275. 

108 


ENLIGHTENMENT  THROUGH  THE  PRESS 

which  he  could  think  about  actual  life.     It  made  the 
sweatshop  an  intellectual  problem. 

Under  the  same  influences  Socialism  itself  changed. 
It  ceased  to  be  a  mere  political  doctrine  and  became  a 
criticism  of  life.  The  Socialist  press  ceased  to  be  only 
the  organ  of  the  doctrinaires,  and  became  an  instru- 
ment of  general  culture.  All  the  intimate,  human,  and 
practical  problems  of  life  found  a  place  in  its  columns. 
It  founded  a  new  literature  and  a  new  culture,  based  on 
the  life  of  the  common  man. 

.  .  .  It  was  America — i.e.,  the  American- Yiddish  press — that 
led  some  of  the  greatest  Yiddish  writers  forth  into  the  world. 
Some  twenty-five  years  ago,  there  being  no  Yiddish  press  in 
Russia,  and  hardly  any  publishers  of  sterling  Yiddish  litera- 
ture, Peretz  was  still  brooding  in  obscurity.  But  then  he 
began  to  write  for  the  Arbeiler  Zeitung,  and  the  Zukunft,  pub- 
lished by  the  New  York  Socialists.  It  was  here  that  many  of 
his  best  sketches  and  symbolistic  tales  first  saw  the  light. 
We  may  say,  without  vanity,  that  we  Americans  discovered 
Peretz  for  Russia.  Equally  is  the  case  with  David  Pinski,  and 
to  some  extent  also  with  Ash,  Raisin,  and  Hirshbcin. 

Of  much  greater  importance  in  this  connection,  however, 
is  our  own  very  numerous  family  of  poets,  novelists,  drama- 
tists, and  publicists.  Suffice  it  merely  to  say  that  in  the  course 
of  these  thirty  years  there  loomed  up  here  not  less  than  a 
couple  of  hundred  Yiddish  men  of  letters.  .  .  . 

It  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  Yiddish  literature 
in  America  is  purely  proletarian.  It  was  never  stimulated  by 
wealthy  patronage :  it  never  had  an  academy  to  guide  it,  and 
never  had  a  literary  salon  to  advise  it.  Moreover,  it  was 
born  and  bred  in  the  daily  and  weekly  press,  with  the  cheap 
dime  novel  for  its  cribfellow,  and  the  loudly  palpitating  daily 
article  for  its  godfather. 

It  is  true  that  while  rocking  in  its  leaden  cradle  it  often 
also  had  Turgenev,  Tolstoi,  Zola,  Dostoyevski,  Chekhov,  and 
Andreiev  for  its  fellows.  Yet,  while  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
American- Yiddish  Uterature  was  visibly  influenced  by  con- 

109 


THE  BIINIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

temporary  European  literature,  it  is  also  true  that  it  was 
Yiddish  literature  that  paved  the  way  for  the  best  in  the 
world's  literature  to  the  receptive  mind  of  the  Yiddish  reader. 
The  Jewish  sweatshop  worker  would  have  no  appreciation  of 
Maupassant  or  Gorki  if  he  had  not  previously  been  trained 
by  Libin,  Korbin,  Gordin,  Pmski,  or  Raisin.  .  .  .^ 

In  its  effort  to  interest  the  common  man  in  a  political 
doctrine  the  Y'iddish  Socialist  press  has  discovered  for 
him  an  interest  in  life.  It  has  done  so  frequently  against 
its  will,  at  least  against  the  will  of  its  editors.  Often  its 
political  theories  never  succeeded  in  reaching  its  public 
at  all. 

There  is  evidence  that  the  editorials,  for  which,  in 
the  main,  the  propagandist  papers  are  published,  are 
not  read.  It  is  news,  births,  and  deaths,  the  ad- 
vertising— particularly  the  patent  medicine  and  the 
labor  want-ads. — that  receive  most  attention.  These 
are  read,  like  the  mail-order  catalogues  in  New  Mexico, 
not  merely  because  of  their  human  interest  and  the 
outlook  they  give  upon  life,  but  because  they  are  easy 
reading  and  there  is  nothing  else  more  interesting  and 
intelligible  at  hand.  The  immigrants  subscribe  for 
these  papers  simply  because  they  want  to  read  any- 
thing— words,  advertisements — because  they  want  to 
leam  to  read. 

Back  of  all  the  unrest  and  the  ferment  in  the  masses 
of  the  immigrant  peoples  in  this  country  is  an  intel- 
lectual movement.  In  Europe  this  movement  has 
gotten  no  farther  than  the  intelligentsia.  Through  the 
foreign-language  press  in  this  country  it  is  reaching  the 
common  people. 

^  Joel  Enteen,  in  the  Jewish  Communal  Register,  1917-18,  pp.  592, 
594-595. 


Part  II 

CONTENTS  OF  THE   FOREIGN-LANGUAGE 
PRESS 


'  ADVERTISING 

The  ordinary  immigrant  newspaper  is  like  a  general 
store  in  a  rural  community.  It  offers  to  its  public  a 
multitude  of  things;  but  nothing  distinctive,  exotic,  or 
stimulating  except,  perhaps,  its  radicalism — political  or 
religious.  The  immigrant  reads  few  journals  and  fewer 
books.  Except  for  his  paper,  he  remains  as  provincial 
in  the  new  country  as  he  was  in  the  old.  Almost  all 
that  he  knows  about  the  larger  political,  social,  and  in- 
dustrial life  about  him,  he  gets  indirectly,  through  the 
medium  of  his  press. 

Through  the  medium  of  this  same  press  the  inhabi-    ■ 
tant  of  the  big  outside  world  may  get  an  intimate   / 
glimpse  into  the  smaller  world  of  the  immigrant.    Read- 
ing some  of  these  foreign  papers  is  like  looking  through 
a  keyhole  into  a  lighted  room.  / 

In  many  cases  the  advertisements  reveal  the  organi- 
zation of  the  immigrant  community  more  fully  than 
does  the  rest  of  the  paper.  For  example,  the  reading 
matter  of  the  Nanjicnos,  a  Lithuanian  Socialist  daily  of 
Chicago,  consists  only  of  such  literature  as  Nietzsche's 
Thus  Spake  Zarathustra  and  propaganda  articles.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  business  addresses  of  the  banks, 
real-estate  agencies,  bookstores,  and  so  forth,  show 
that  there  are  at  least  three  Lithuanian  colonies  in 
Chicago,  the  main  colony  being  the  one  that  centers 
around  Halsted  Street  and  Blue  Island  Avenue,  and 
that  Lithuanian  plays  are  given  in  each  of  these 
colonies. 

113 


THE  BIlVIIGRiVNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

The  advertisements  also  reveal  to  what  extent  an 
immigrant  group  has  adapted  itself  to  American  ways. 
Immigrant  businesses  flourish  when  immigration  is  re- 
cent or  when  there  is  segregation;  societies  and  cul- 
tural organizations  are  built  up  more  slowly  and  are 
more  lasting. 

The  Syrian  papers  of  New  York,  with  their  adver- 
tisements of  lodging  houses,  groceries,  restaurants,  and 
clothing  merchants,  show  that  there  are  a  large  number 
of  recent  arrivals  from  Syria,  all  of  whose  life  is  spent 
among  their  countrymen  on  Washington  Street.  The 
Italian  papers,  too,  contain  many  ad\ertisements  of 
groceries  and  importers  of  oil,  of  doctors,  lawyers,  real 
estate,  and  employment  agencies.  In  the  Italian  sec- 
tion west  of  the  New  York  Bowery  there  are  Italian 
women  who  do  all  their  buying  from  the  Italian  stores, 
and  who  never  go  outside  the  neighborhood  except  to 
visit  other  Italian  settlements  uptown  or  in  Brooklyn. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Abendpost,  the  big  daily  of 
the  German  colony  long  established  in  Chicago,  has 
almost  no  advertisements  of  German  business.  The 
readers  of  the  Abendpost  patronize  American  merchants, 
and  a  single  copy  of  the  paper  contains  the  advertise- 
ments of  eight  downtown  department  stores.  The 
Abendpost  does  contain,  however,  the  advertisements 
of  German  professionals,  doctors  and  lawyers,  and  of 
German  organizations.  During  the  winter  there  are 
always  announcements  of  German  plays. 

IMMIGRANT   BUSINESS 

Certain  kinds  of  advertisements,  such  as  steamship  ad- 
vertisements and  colonization  society  advertisements, 
are  especially  characteristic  of  the  foreign-language 
papers.  The  business  of  the  steamship  agent,  who  is 
almost   always  a  money   changer   and   a   banker,  is 

114 


ad\t:rtising 

described  in  a  later  chapter.  The  agency  of  George  Cum- 
panas,  the  proprietor  of  the  Desteaptate  Rornane  of  New 
York  City,  did  a  gooa  business  in  the  summer  of  1919 
when  there  were  between  six  and  seven  thousand  Ru- 
manians from  Cleveland,  Youngstown,  Detroit,  and 
elsewhere,  herded  together  in  New  York,  waiting  for 
passports. 

If  you  wish  to  return  to  the  Fatherland  for  little  money 
and  be  well  taken  care  of 

Address 

G.  CUIVIPANAS 

THE    FIRST    RUMANIAN    AGENT    OF    STEAMSHIP    TICKETS    AND 
PASSPORTS 

$130 .  00    If  you  will  send  me     Write  me  immediate-    $95 .  00 
$10.00,    I    will    re-     ly  for  information, 
serve   a   berth   for 
you. 

Rumanian  Brothers! 

If  you  are  coming  to  New  York,  come  to  my  Rumanian 
Steamship  Agency  and  get  your  ticket.  I  will  not  charge 
you  extra.    It  will  be  well,  if  you  wish  to  go,  to  come  soon. 

You  will  not  be  able  to  get  steamship  tickets  any  more 
cheaply  if  you  go  to  the  captain  of  the  boat. 

If  you  wish  to  bring  your  family  over  from  home,  no  one 
will  do  it  so  vvell,  so  honestly,  and  so  quickly  as  my  agency. 

If  you  get  yovu  tickets  from  me — you  will  not  have  to  en- 
gage a  porter  or  a  taxi — I  will  attend  to  all  these  things. 

Here  is  a  list  of  ships  which  will  sail  soon: 

7  Aug.    Patria,  via  Neapol  la  Constanta $130 

12  Aug.    Duca  (TAbruzzi,  la  Triest  $98.      La  Con- 
stanta     148 

16  July     Rcgina  d:  Italia,  Neapol  si  Genea 72         140 

17  Aug.    Canada,  via  Pireaus  la  Constanta 130 

115 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

27  July     President  Wilson,  Triest 125 

28  July     Pesaro,  via  Neapol  la  Constanta 140 

SI  Aug.    Roma,  via  Mareseille  la  Triest 86 

The  first  payment  of  $10.00  reserves  for  you  a  place  in  the 
steamer  that  you  WTite  me  you  wish  to  take.  So  decide 
soon 

G.  CUMPANAS 
Steamship  agent  and  agent  for  passports. 
146  Seventh  Avenue 
(Between  18th  and  19th  Streets) » 

The  real-estate  agent  in  the  foreign-language  group 
makes  a  specialty  of  advertising  farms  and  farm  land. 
The  majority  of  immigrants  to  the  United  States  have 
been  peasants,  and  they  are  land  hungry.  Farm  land 
is  not  so  plentiful  as  it  was  in  the  days  when  the  German 
and  Scandinavian  pioneers  bought  Wisconsin  land  for 
a  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  an  acre.  There  are  ad- 
vertisements of  colonization  societies  in  the  press  of 
almost  every  group,  which  offer  the  immigrant  a  farm 
among  people  of  his  own  speech. 


rARM3  FOR  SALE 

In  the  vicinity  of  Scottsville,  Michigan,  there  is  located  the 
greatest  Lithuanian  farming  colony  in  America,  which  we 
have  settled  with  four  hundred  and  thirty-eight  Lithuanian 
farmers.  They  have  at  present  three  farmers'  associations, 
two  free  and  one  Catholic,  a  priest,  and  a  Lithuanian 
cemetery. 

In  this  beautiful  locality  we  have  settled  the  good  farms  of 
the  Englishmen  with  Lithuanian  farmers. 

We  have  for  sale  good,  cheap  farms;  both  small  and  large, 
with  buildings,  orchards,  fields  already  planted:  we  even 
have  some  with  cattle  and  farm  machinery.  We  sell  on 
easiest  terms. 


^  Libertatea  si  Desteaptate  Romane  (Rumanian),  New  York  City. 
116 


AD\^RTISING 

Pay  no  attention  to  those  who  attempt  to  persuade  you 
that  this  is  not  true;  they  are  doing  this  out  of  jealousy.  Do 
not  buy  a  farm  in  another  place,  for  you  will  be  sorry  that 
you  did  not  buy  from  us. 

Come  at  once  to  us.  We  will  see  that  you  are  settled  among 
Lithuanian  farmers,  where  you  will  have  a  fine  living  on 
splendid  farms,  where  the  fields  are  level,  where  there  are 
many  beautiful  creeks  and  lakes  full  of  fish,  where  the  soil  is 
mL\ed  with  clay  and  is  fertile  for  all  kinds  of  crops,  orchards, 
grass  lands,  and  pastures. 

We  have  much  uncultivated  land  which  is  sold  cheap;  at 
from  eight  to  eighteen  dollars  p>er  acre. 

We  pay  the  railroad  expenses  of  those  who  buy  from  us, 
and  anyone  sending  us  a  customer  receives  a  present  of 
twenty-five  dollars. 

For  further  information  send  six  cents  in  stamps  and  we 
will  send  you  a  Farm  Catalogue  and  a  map  of  the  colony.* 

Address  A.  Kiedis,  Peoples  State  Bank  Building, 

Scottsville,  Michigan  * 

The  customs  of  the  immigrants  regarding  food, 
clothing,  holidays,  and  social  life  survive  to  some  ex- 
tent in  every  language  group,  although  they  break 
down  very  rapidly.    Such  as  appear  in  the  advertise- 


*  Note  of  the  translator:  This  is  the  oldest  Lithuanian  farming 
colony  which  has  been  systematically  colonized  by  advertising.  I 
visited  this  colony  in  1913  and  at  that  time  there  were  already  about 
three  hmxdred  Lithuanian  farmers  who  had  bought  the  land,  but 
only  about  thirty  or  forty  lived  there,  for  the  land  was  in  such  condi- 
tion that  it  required  much  money  to  put  it  under  cultivation.  Li 
some  places,  in  my  opinion,  it  will  never  be  cultivated,  and  those  who 
have  bought  it  are  only  too  glad  to  sell  it  again,  as  it  consists  mostly 
of  swamps  and  sandy  soil.  A  good  deal  of  cheating  is  done  in  selling, 
and  this  was  one  of  the  causes,  and  I  believe  still  is,  why  the  Lithua- 
nians stay  in  the  city  rather  than  go  and  buy  swampy  land  or  land 
otherwise  unfit  for  cultivation,  and  this  though  they  were  farmers  at 
home  and  would  prefer  to  live  on  farms  here.  (See  A  Stake  in  the  Land, 
Peter  A.  Speek.) 

2  Kardas,  Lithuanian,  Chicago  (humorous^. 
117 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

ments  of  the  foreign-language  press  are,  for  the  most 
part,  connected  with  food  and  ritual. 

RABBI  LEON  YAFFE 

Expert  circumcizer  and  performer  of  marriage  ceremonies. 
Preacher  of  righteousness  of  the  Synagogue,  "The  Gathering 
of  Israel."  Accepts  "ceremonies  of  circumcision"  in  city 
and  country  at  reasonable  prices. 

1320  N.  Artesian  Ave. 
Near  Potomac  Ave. 
Tel.  Humbolt  4591 1 


Established  in  Athens  m  1899  Tel.  Gramercy  6190 

In  New  York  in  1914 

THE  ONLY  GREEK  FACTORY  IN  AMERICA 

for 
Wedding  Crowns  and  Baptismal  Decorations 

DORROS  BROTHERS 

All  kinds  of  wedding  and  baptismal  articles  are 
made  in  our  factory 
Retail  and  Wholesale 

40-42  East  19th  Street, 
Near  Broadway,  New  York  - 


ONLY  SLOVENIAN  STORE 

Standards,  medals,  insignia,  caps,  seals,  and  everything  that 

is  necessary  for  societies  and  lodges 

First  class  work.  Low  prices. 

Slovenian  catalogues  will  be  sent. 

F.  Kerze,  2711  So.  Millard  Ave., 

Chicago,  Illinois.^ 

1  Jewish  Courier  (Yiddish),  Chicago. 

2  Liberal  (Greek),  New  York  City. 

3  Glasilo  K.  S.  K.  Jednote  (Slovenian),  Chicago  (organ  of  frater- 
nal societies) . 

118 


ADVERTISING 

Newly  papered!  Separate  booths! 

For  Women,  Men,  and  Families 

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to 
12  o'clock  night » 


Kwong,  Yick,  and  Company 

941  Grant  Ave.,  San  Francisco,  California. 
P.  O.  Box  2477. 

Oil,  Rice,  Tea,  Sugar 

MOON  CAKE  2 

All  Kinds  of  Groceries  ' 

Immigrant  foods  and  foreign-language  restaurants 
survive  longest.  The  foreign-language  restaurant  pro- 
vides much  more  than  food;  it  provides  atmosphere, 
newspapers,  and  talk.  The  Greek  coffeehouses  below 
Chatham  Square  and  the  Polish  restaurants  around 
Tompkins  Square,  in  New  York,  keep  for  their  cus- 
tomers copies  of  all  the  important  Greek  and  Polish 
papers  in  the  United  States. 

^  Tyomies  (Finnish),  Superior,  Wisconsin. 

'  The  Moon  cake  is  eaten  at  the  harvest  festival  in  China  on  the 
fifteenth  day  of  the  eighth  month.  It  has  the  shape  of  the  harvest 
moon. 

'  Chung  Sai  Vat  Po  (Chinese),  San  Francisco,  California. 
119 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

GREAT  REDUCTION 

"We  have  just  received  Spanish 
oil  in  barrels  and  in  bulk. 
See  us  about  the  price 


CHEESE 

Romanello  44c. 

Romano  49c. 

Sorrento  60c. 

Provoloni  75c. 

Caciocavallo  65c. 


Write  or  send  the  order  to 

COURmiALIS  &  CO. 

177  Hester  St.    New  York 

opposite 
321  Mott  Street,  New  York  » 


GREEK   SYRIAN   JMARKET 

A  Great  Importing  House 

of 

Greek  and  Oriental  Products 


All  Kinds  of  Groceries,  Coffees, 

Great  Stock  of  all  Kinds  of  Goods! 

Ask  for  our  new  illustrated  catalogue 

All  Kinds  of  Pastries!  ^ 


WINE  CELLAR  AT  THE  "BINGER  HOLE" 

of 
ADOLPH  GEORG 

Importer,  Wholesale  and  Retail  Dealer 
155  W^est  Randolph  St.,  Chicago,  Illinois 


1  Progresso  I talo- Americano  (Italian),  New  York. 

2  Greek  National  Herald  (Greek),  New  York. 

120 


ADVERTISING 

"When  the  roof  is  on  fire 
The  Spirits  awake 
When  Thoughts  are  lofty 
The  legs  do  shake!" 

Literary  composition  of  Robert  Reitzel  * 

written  for  the  walls  of 

The  Winecellar  of  Adolph  Georg  at  its 

opening,  May  1896.2 

PROFESSIONAL  ADVERTISEMENTS 

The  advertisements  of  the  priest,  the  doctor,  and  the 
lawyer  appear  as  soon  as  the  immigrant  community 
attains  any  size.  The  papers  of  the  Germans  and  Scan- 
dinavians and  the  agricultural  sections  of  other  groups 
are  full  of  such  advertisements.  The  advertisements  of 
immigrant  doctors  and  patent  medicines  sometimes 
occupy  a  third  or  a  half  of  the  space  of  a  foreign-lan- 
guage paper. 

The  idea  that  sickness  can  be  magically  healed  by  the 
use  of  X  rays,  electric  belts,  and  electric  batteries  seems 
to  be  as  popular  as  is  the  literature  of  hypnotism,  oc- 
cultism, and  palmistry.  Pictures  of  electric  belts  and 
X-ray  examinations  appear  in  almost  every  daily  paper. 
Trusses  for  hernia,  which  often  results  from  the  strain 
sustained  in  heavy  work,  are  also  widely  advertised. 

The  advertisements  for  the  cure  of  venereal  diseases 
are  usually  veiled,  and  the  prospective  patient  is  told 
that  he  will  be  treated  courteously  and  that  it  will  be 
made  easy  for  him  to  talk.  These  advertisements  are 
not  always  indirect,  however.  Twenty  per  cent  of  the 
medical  advertisements  in  the  largest  Chinese  daily,  the 

^  Robert  Reitzel  was  an  idealist  and  a  literary  man.  He  wTote  and 
edited  an  anarchist  paper  in  Detroit  known  as  Der  Arme  Teufel  {The 
Poor  Devil). 

*  Amerikanische  Tumzeitung  (German),  Minneapolis. 
121 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Chung  Sai  Yat  Po,  of  San  Francisco,  are  prefaced  by 
the  "flower- willow"  symbol,  which  stands  for  a  vene- 
real disease. 

Long  years  of  practice  in  treatment  of  nerves,  and  chronic 
and  complicated  diseases,  give  me  special  skill  in  electric?! 
treatment  which  can  help  cases  where  other  methods  have 
faile<l. 

I  have  some  of  the  newest  electric  apparatus  to  treat 
chronic  cases.  If  you  are  sick,  you  should  devote  a  little 
attention  to  it  and  talk  with  me.  I  treat  you  as  a  guest 
whom  it  is  a  pleasure  to  see.  My  fee  for  the  treatment  is 
easily  met,  and  is  not  beyond  what  such  help  and  goodness 
as  you  will  get  from  me  would  demand. 

Remember,  consultation  and  examination  are  free.  Putting 
off  and  neglecting  treatment  is  very  dangerous.  Come  in  if 
you  need  the  help  of  experience  and  of  all  kinds  of  apparatus 
and  of  specialists. 

Dr.  H.  B.  VAEL,  Specialist,  Room  7,  2d  Floor 

622  Summit  UUca  Messinger  Blk. 

Near  Cherry  and  St.  Clair,  Toledo,  Ohio 

Office  Hours — 10  a.m.  to  4  p.m. 
Sunday — 10  a.m.  to  2  p.m. 

We  speak  Polish.     No  interpreter  needed.* 


San  Francisco,  March  7,  1913. 

To  the  Public:  I  announce  that  I  have  been  cured  through 
the  drugs  of  Dr.  Woo.  I  had  syphilis  in  my  nose,  ears,  and 
throat  for  four  years,  and  my  condition  was  hopeless.  Within 
a  month  I  was  cured  by  the  above  mentioned  doctor,  while 
twelve  other  doctors  to  whom  I  had  gone  entirely  failed. 

Nick  Guno 
710  Harrison  St.^ 


1  Ameryka-Echo  (Polish),  Toledo,  September  14,  1918. 
^Prometheus  (Greek),  San  Francisco,  California,  March  7,  1913. 
122 


ADVERTISING 

The  immigrant  lawyer  is  usually  of  the  second  gen- 
eration, since  the  man  who  was  born  in  another  country 
rarely  uses  English  well  enough  to  plead  cases.  Occa- 
sionally, in  the  legal,  as  in  other  professions,  the  Jew 
becomes  the  intellectual  of  another  group. 

FANNIE  HOROVITZ 

Italian  Lawyer 
Civil  and  criminal  cases 
299  Broadway,  New  York        Tel.  Worth  5508  » 

BOOKS 

Many  of  the  immigrants  learn  to  read  their  mother 
tongue  in  this  country,  and  many  others  acquire  the 
habit  of  reading  over  here.  Almost  every  Polish  daily 
in  Chicago  runs  a  book-publishing  concern.  Advertise- 
ments of  their  own  and  other  bookstores  appear  in  the 
foreign-language  papers. 

The  literature  of  the  masses  falls  into  two  classes: 
the  literature  of  love  and  the  literature  of  radicalism. 

Among  the  Spanish,  Portuguese,  Rumanians,  Ital- 
ians, and  some  otliers,  the  literature  of  love  and  magic 
is  as  prevalent  as  among  the  hoboes  of  the  Bowery, 
New  York,  or  West  Madison  Street,  Chicago. 

35c.  Library 

Perpetual  Adoration Terramond 

The  Virgin  and  the  Sinner E.  Zola  de  Mendes 

The  Son  and  the  Lover T.  Cahu 

Tfie  Rose  of  Grenada Romeau  * 

^  Progresso  Italo- Americano  (Italian),  New  York  City. 
*  Alvorado  (Portuguese),  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts. 
9  123 


THE  EVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Nicoletti's  Music  Store 
Mulberry  Street,  New  York  City. 

Love  Letters 

Palmistry 

The  First  Night  of  Matrimony 

Prohibited  book 

Meditations  on  the  sexual  problem 

Telepathy  and  dreams  i 


MEXICAN  CARDS 


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ornamented  with  colored  silk  ribbons  and  placed  in  its  own 
box;  one  dozen  postal  cards — portraits  of  famous  actresses 
and  three  colored  bromide  photographs  of  winsome  lady 
bathers. 

We  are  going  to  enclose  besides  a  pamplilet  giving  the  lan- 
guages of  the  fan  and  handkerchief,  advices  to  those  in  love, 
declarations  of  love,  etc.,  etc.,  and  a  general  list  of  prizes. 
On  receipt  of  the  above  you  will  pay  only  97  cts. 
Send  your  order  now  to  the  following  address:  ^ 


JUST  OUT 

The  first  book  in  the  Lithuanian  language  concerning  the 
sex  question. 

Written  by  the  best  known  scientist  on  the  sexual  question 
in  America — Dr.  Wm.  J.  Robinson 

In  this  book  is  found  a  truthful,  clear,  and  comprehensive 
description  of  aU  the  most  important  phenomena  of  sexual  life. 

This  book  clearly  and  truthfully  explains  how  to  avoid 
venereal  diseases;  what  is  necessary  in  order  to  be  successful 
in  family  life;  how  to  raise  healthy  and  happy  children;  and 
gives  many  other  important  and  necessary  facts. 

^  Progresso  Italo-Americano  (Italian),  New  York. 
*  Prensa  (Spanish),  San  Antonio,  Texas. 
124 


ADVERTISING 

THIS  BOOK  IS  MOST  ESSENTIAL  TO  EVERY 
GROWN-UP  PERSON 

It  has  many  illustrations  which  make  it  easier  to  under- 
stand the  described  matters. 

Price  $2.00 
Send  money  by  money  order  or  in  paper  money  to 
ALUL  ORDER  AGENCY 
Box  129,  General  P.  O.     New  York,  N.  Y.^ 


MARRIAGE  WANTED 


Wanted — A  lovely  rabbi's  or  scholar's  daughter.  She  must 
be  tall  and  young,  sympathetic,  rehgious,  idealistic,  and  in- 
terested in  Zionism  and  Jewish  interests.  She  must  be  cul- 
tiu-ed  and  well-read — a  girl  whom  one  could  love  for  her 
qualities  alone.  Money  is  not  required  and  a  Lithuanian  girl 
is  preferred. 

The  young  man,  though  still  in  his  twenties,  is  a  great 
scholar  and  takes  part  in  the  discussion  circles  of  orthodox 
rabbis.  He  is  clever,  cultured,  has  a  modern  education,  and 
is  a  social  worker  and  a  Zionist.  He  has  a  very  beautiful, 
charming,  and  sympathetic  exterior,  is  not  poor,  and  is  rabbi 
of  a  pretty  sjTiagogue.^ 

The  radical  papers  have  no  romantic  fiction;  their 
interest  is  in  ideas.  They  advertise  books  on  science, 
which  go  back  to  Darwin  and  Spencer,  propaganda, 
and  literature  that  has  a  radical  tinge.  There  are  twice 
as  many  columns  of  book  advertisements  in  the  radical 
press  as  in  the  rest  of  the  foreign-language  press. 

BOOKS 

History  of  the  Alphabet,  A.  B.  Schnitzer,  compiled  by  Sernas. 
How  to  Write  Letters  in  Lithuanian  and  English,  J.   Laukis. 
Period  of  Reign  of  Slachta   (nobility  in  Lithuania  and  the 
Lithuanian  Statute),  Dr.  Jonas  Sliupas. 

*  Laisve  (Lithuanian),  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

*  Jevnsh  Morning-Journal  (Yiddish),  New  York  City. 

125 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

The  Earth  and  Other  Worlds,  according  to  Heilpema,  Falba, 

and  others,  compiled  by  Scrnas. 
Ancient  AnimaU  Which  Have    Disappeared  from  the  Earth, 

according  to  Hutchinson,  compiled  by  Sernas. 
Atmospheric  Phenomena  or  Meteorology,  according  to  Profes- 
sor Vajeikov,  compiled  by  Sernas. 
Ethnology,  or  the  Story  of  Earth's  Peoples,  according  to  Dr.  H. 

Haveriand,  compiled  by  Sernas. 
Evolution  of  Freedom.    From  barbarism  to  civilization.    Book 

for  speakers  and  seekers  of  education.  .  .  . 
The  Bible  of  Priest  Bimba  (collection  of  antireligious  humoris- 

tic  writings,  translated),  "Priest"  Bimba's  sermons,  songs, 

and  illustrations. 
Inquisition.    How  with  the  help  of  torture  and  bonfires  "holy 

relief"  was  propagated. 
History  of  Religion.     Here  are  collected  all   the  humbugs 

which  have  been  donated  by  those  who  are  supposed  to 

know  heaven.    This  is  the  most  important  buck  in  the 

Lithuanian  language.     Three  times  larger  than  the  Bible. 

Well  bound.     $5.00. 
Rome.  Romance  by  Emile  Zola.  Translated  from  the  French. 
The  Jungle,  by  Upton  Sinclair. 
The  Sunken  Bell.    Drama  in  5  acts.    Gerhardt  Hauptmann. 

Translated  by  A.  Lalis. 
Soberness  of  Socialistic  Thought. 
Work,  second  part  of  Foiir  Epistles,  by  Emile  Zola. 
The  School  of  Life,  by  Orison  Swett  Harden.    Translated  by 

K.  Zegota. 

Marriage  brokers  still  advertise  in  the  Yiddish  papers. 
The  Lithuanian  Kelevis  of  Boston,  a  very  successful 
and  sensational  Socialist  daily,  and  some  of  the  Spanish 
papers  have  "Marriage  Wanted"  columns  which  con- 
tribute much  to  their  popularity. 

MARRIAGE  WANTED! 

Wanted — Girl  or  childless  widow,  19-27  years  old,  free- 
thinker, agreeing  to  a  civil  marriage,  knowing  how  to  read 
and  write  in  Lithuanian,  wanted  by  a  man  29  years  old, 

126 


ADVERTISING 

photographer,  using  no  intoxicants  or  tobacco.    Particulars 
in  letter.  1 


IMMIGRANT   ORGANIZATIONS 

The  organization  advertisements  that  appear  In  any 
single  copy  of  a  foreign-language  paper  rarely  give  a 
complete  picture  of  the  organization  of  a  local  com- 
munity, or  the  organization  of  the  whole  immigrant 
group;  but  they  do  indicate  what  the  picture  probably 
is. 

The  immigrant  benefit  society  is  always  the  first 
organization,  and  is  usually  founded  by  people  from 
the  same  village.  * 

Every  Chinese  is  supposed  to  belong  to  a  tong.  A 
tong  is  an  informal  secret  society,  and  the  relation  of 
the  member  to  the  organization  is  of  an  intimate  char- 
acter. When  a  man  withdraws  from  his  tong  and  no 
longer  ^\-ishes  to  be  responsible  for  its  actions,  he  makes 
public  announcements  of  this  in  the  press,  so  that  not 
only  the  tong  but  the  whole  Chinese  community  will 
understand  what  his  status  is. 

Such  organizations  as  the  Bohemian  freethinker  so- 
cieties, Socialist  federations,  nationalistic  societies,  an- 
archist circles,  and  German  Turnvereins  represent 
groups  of  people  who  have  common  emotional  ties  and 
a  similar  philosophy  of  life. 

The  Ukrainian  colonies  in  the  United  States  experi- 
enced a  real  renaissance  during  the  war.  They  formed 
societies  and  sent  out  for  lecturers  to  address  them,  but 
there  were  not  enough  lecturers  to  supply  the  demand. 
The  new  interest  in  Ukrainia  extended  to  lectures  on 
astronomy.     With  the  older  immigrant  groups  these 

1  Kelevis  (Lithuanian),  Boston,  Massachusetts. 

2  R.  E.  Park  and  Herbert  A.  Miller,  Old  World  Traits  Transplanted, 
chap.  vi. 

127 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

periods  of  Intellectual  unrest  have  already  been  passed. 
The  interest  in  free  tliought  among  the  Bohemians  is 
no  longer  felt  by  their  children.  The  German  Turn- 
vereins  still  breathe  with  the  radicalism  of  '48,  but  they 
no  longer  have  the  personalities  of  '48. 

The  longer  a  group  is  settled,  the  more  variety  and 
complexity  of  organization  is  attained.  The  German- 
American  Address  Book  for  the  year  1916-17  lists  6,586 
societies  in  the  United  States  which  include  nationalist 
societies,  singing  societies,  German  trades  unions,  social 
clubs,  veteran  societies,  provincial  societies,  athletic 
and  gymnastic  societies,  and  benefit  societies.  The 
Germans  probably  have  more  societies  than  other  im- 
migrant groups,  except  the  Jews.  INIost  of  these  are 
really  social  organizations.  Skat  tournaments  and  other 
games  are  the  sport  of  the  older  settlers,  but  on  the 
second  floor  of  Strunsky's,  and  at  the  Neighborhood 
Cafe,  the  Jews  play  chess. 

FOR  SKATPLAYERS! 

Tonight  there  will  be  a  Skat-tournament  in 
the  Pabst  theater.  Admission  cards  for  the 
national  tournament  will  be  issued. ^ 


DONT  FORGET  Saturday  evening,  January  5th,  1918, 
is  the  INTERNATIONAL  PRISONERS'   MASQUE 

BALL,  given  by  the  Anarchist  Red  Cross  .  .  .  Help  free 
the  political  prisoners  of  America  and  Europe. 

HARLEM  RIVER  CASINO,  127th  Street  and  2d  Ave. 
Tickets  at 
Freie  Arbeiter  Stimme     157  East  B'way. 
Meisel's  Bookstore  424  Grand  Street 

Vegetarian  Rest  55  Second  Street,  26  Delancey 

Stern's  Bookstore  182  Havemeyer  St.,  Brooklyn  ^ 


^  Germania  (German),  Milwaukee. 
2  Forward  (Yiddish),  New  York  City. 
12S 


ADVERTISING 

Mr.  Chen:  I  am  a  gardener  and  formerly  of  Ho  Shin  Tong. 
Now  because  I  am  too  much  occupied  and  unable  to  look  after 
other  things,  therefore  I  hand  in  all  the  fees  and  withdraw 
from  the  tong.  Hereafter  anything  that  is  connected  with 
the  tong  has  notlung  to  do  with  me.^ 


Festival ! 
Fifth  big  picnic  of  Delia  Loggia  Notar  Benanti  di  Bolognetta. 
Patrons:    the  physicians;    Manfredi  Benanti,  Rosario  Sira- 
cusa,  Arrigo  Giro. 

June  22,  1919,  2  pm. 
Comer  Tompkins  and  Chestnut  Ave.' 

Dramatic  organizations  are  frequent  in  immigrant 
groups.  There  are  many  amateur  performances  ad- 
vertised for  the  benefit  of  churches,  lodges,  and  schools. 
Some  of  the  Socialist  Finns,  Jews,  and  Lithuanians 
have  good  amateur  companies  which  give  several  per- 
formances a  year. 

Most  of  the  immigrant  groups  have  vaudeville  per- 
formances of  their  own  in  the  big  cities.  They  get  a 
great  deal  of  fun  out  of  the  puns  of  the  comedians  and 
the  half -foreign,  half -American  patter  which  is  just  like 
the  conversations  of  the  street. 

The  Jews,  Ukrainians,  Poles,  Hungarians,  French, 
Germans,  Italians,  and  Japanese  all  have  one  or  more 
professional  companies  in  the  United  States,  most  of 
which  are  located  in  New  York,  Chicago,  and  San  Fran- 
cisco. With  the  exception  of  the  Jews,  these  companies 
all  give  plays  imported  from  the  old  country.  The  Jews 
have  a  group  of  contemporaneous  playwrights  whose 
plays  deal  with  American  life.  For  example,  Ossip 
Dimoff,  who  has  only  recently  come  from  Russia,  had 
a  play  at  the  Madison  Square  Garden  Theater  in  the     , ' 

*  Chinese  World  (Chinese),  San  Francisco,  California.  '    ' 

2  BoUetino  delta  Sera  (Italian),  New  York  City. 
129 


i 


THE  EVI1VIIGR.VNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

;  winter  of  1920,  called  "The  Bronx  Express,"  which  is  a 
very  clever  satire  on  Americanization. 

The  Jews  have  five  theaters  on  the  lower  East  Side 
,    of  New  York.     The  two  Yiddish  theaters  on  Second 

i  Avenue,  near  Houston  Street,  are  identified  vnih  two 
I  famous  theatrical  families,  the  Adlers  and  the  Toma- 
''  schefskys.  Many  of  the  Broadway  "hits"  have  bor- 
rowed their  plots  and  their  music  from  these  two 
theaters.  The  Irving  Place  Theater,  which  was  Ger- 
man before  the  war,  and  the  Madison  Square  Garden 
Theater  are  giving  plays  by  such  contemporaneous 
authors  as  Ossip  Dimoff,  Leon  Korbin,  Peretz,  Hirsch- 
bein,  and  Scholem  Asch,  all  of  whom  are  young  men. 
The  character  acting  of  these  two  companies,  and  of 
some  of  Adler's  company,  is  not  rivaled  on  the  Ameri- 
can stage. 

Acierno's  Thalia  Theater 
46-48  Bowery,  New  York 


All  Saturday,  Sunday,  and  Monday 
NINA  DE  CHARNY 

All  Kinds  of  Spectacular  Varieties 

Couple  Vuolo-Narciso  Vincenzo  di  Maio,  tenor 

A.  Bascetta,  impersonator  Augiista  Merighi 

Comedy  Company  Allara 

Rosina    Raino,    Vittonio    Somna,    Elisa    Perna; 

the  Dramatic  company  Perez-Cenerazzo  will  give 

on  Wednesday,  the  24th,  the  spectacular  drama 

in  5  acts 

THE  BLACK  HAND 

Giovanni  de  Rosalia  and  Company 
Will  give  on  Friday,  September  25th, 
the  comedy  m  3  acts: 
MR.  MIKE'S  MOTOR  1 

^  Progresso  Italo- Americano  (Italian),  New  York  City. 
130 


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THE  EVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

AMERICAN   ADVERTISEMENTS 

What  the  immigrant  wants  most  in  getting  adjusted 
to  America  is  a  job.  The  "Help  Wanted"  section 
figures  prominently  in  the  press  of  the  industrial  groups. 
City  factory  labor,  and  workers  in  the  mines  and  steel 
mills,  are  at  present  in  greatest  demand. 

LOADERS 

With  families  and  single. 

THE  RELLVNCE  COAL  AND  COKE  COMPANY 
GLOMAWR,  KY. 

The  nearest  town  is  Hazard,  Ky.  Perry  Co.  This  is  a  drift 
mine.  The  upper  layer  is  four  feet  and  four  inches  high.  No 
slag  counted.  Work  is  done  with  machinery.  Steady  job. 
Good  workers  earn  from  $80  to  $120  in  a  couple  of  weeks. 
The  plant  is  lighted.  Cottages  with  electricity  and  water  are 
rented  for  $1.50  per  person.  School  and  church.  Come  in 
person  or  write  to  the  RELIANCE  COAL  AND  COKE  CO. 
GLOIVLVWR,  KY.  Take  the  Louisville  and  NashviUe  Ry. 
from  Winchester  Ky.  or  from  McRoberts,  Ky.' 

The  extent  to  which  American  products  and  services, 
in  contrast  to  the  products  and  services  of  the  foreign- 
language  group,  are  advertised,  depends  very  much  on 
the  type  of  the  group. 

Industrial  workers  who  are  saving  money,  and  who 
purchase  little  besides  necessaries,  depend  on  the  busi- 
ness men  and  merchants  of  their  own  people  except  for 
shoes,  rubber  boots,  tools,  and  gold  watches,  all  of  which 
are  advertised  by  American  manufacturers.  The  gold 
watch  is  the  first  luxury  that  the  immigrant  industrial 
desires.  When  the  IngersoU  Watch  Company  was  re- 
ducing its  advertising  appropriation  during  the  war,  it 
doubled  its  advertising  in  the  foreign-language  papers.^ 

1  Prosveta  (Slovenian),  Chicago. 

*  Don  S.  Momard,  "Advertising  in  the  foreign-language  press  is  no 
longer  an  experiment,"  in  Advertising  and  Selling,  July  5,  1919. 

132 


ADVERTISmG 

Do  not  send  us  a  single  penny.  11  you  send  us  the  coupon 
we  will  willingly  send  the  illustrated  articles  C.O.D.  Some 
dealers  require  for  inferior  watches  from  $18.00  to  $20.00. 
Do  not  wait;  send  the  coupon  right  now,  for  the  sale  is  to 
last  a  few  days  only. 

This  coupon  is  good  for  30  days  only!] 

Union  Novelty  Co.  Dept.  21. 
1016  Milwaukee  Av.  Chicago,  Illinois 

Send  me  a  21  jewel  gold-filled  watch  which  is  sold  for  the 
reduced  price  together  with  the  19  articles  which  are  given 
free  with  the  watch.  I  shall  pay  $13.95  when  I  receive  the 
articles.  If  I  do  not  take  the  watch,  then  you  are  to  return 
my  money. 

Name 


Address. 


The  Spanish  and  French  provincial  press  of  New 
Mexico,  Texas,  and  of  New  England  also,  have  little 
national  advertising.  They  advertise  the  local  depart- 
ment stores  and  businesses,  and  romantic  and  religious 
books. 

The  favorite  luxury  of  city  people  seems  to  be  the 
phonograph  and  phonograph  records.  There  is  a  music 
store  on  Sixth  Avenue,  in  New  York  City,  which  ad- 
vertises records  in  twenty-three  different  languages. 
There  are  quite  a  number  of  Italian  music  and  book 
stores  on  lower  JNIulberry  Street,  New  York  City,  which 
is  the  center  of  the  Neapolitan  section.  In  addition  to 
the  familiar  Italian  pieces,  these  stores  have  the  notes 
and  records  of  songs  WTitten  in  this  country  by  some  of 
the  younger  Italian  composers.  Many  of  these  are 
about  such  subjects  as  "The  American  Workingman" 
and  "The  Land  of  the  Dollar,"  with  melodies  borrowed 

^  Lietuva  (Lithuanian),  Chicago. 
133 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

partly  from  Italian  music  and  partly  from  American 
ragtime. 

The  latest  melody: 

I  WANT  TO  GO  BACK  TO  NAPLES 

Verses  and  music  by 
F.  Pemiino 

Price  $0.75 

Piano  Rolls 

Miisical  Emporium 

150  Mulberry  Street, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

The  oldest  and  largest  assortment  and  the  greatest  establish- 
ment of  its  kind.' 

The  automobile  is  a  luxury  that  most  readers  of  the 
foreign-language  papers  cannot  afford.  Advertise- 
ments of  schools  where  one  can  learn  to  drive  an  auto- 
mobile appear  in  the  city  press;  but  only  in  the  press 
of  the  Middle  Western  farmers  and  the  commercial 
peoples,  like  the  Greeks  and  part  of  the  Spanish  group, 
are  auto  advertisements  to  be  found  with  any  frequency. 
Even  in  these  cases  the  cars  are  not  high  priced. 

In  examining  the  advertisements  in  the  foreign-lan- 
guage press,  we  usually  discover  that  the  immigrant,  in 
his  own  world,  is  behaving  very  much  as  we  do  in  ours. 
He  eats  and  drinks;  looks  for  a  job;  goes  to  the  the- 
ater; indulges  in  some  highly  prized  luxury  when  his 
purse  permits;  occasionally  buys  a  book;  and  for- 
gathers with  his  friends  for  sociability.  This  is  some- 
times and  in  some  cases  a  revelation. 


1  Progresso  Italo-Americano  (Italian :  Neapolitan  dialect).  New  York 
City. 

134 


VI 

THE  PROVINCUL  PRESS 

The  press  of  the  earlier  immigrant  groups — the  Ger- 
mans, Scandinavians,  Bohemians,  the  French  of  New 
England,  and  the  Spanish  of  New  Mexico  and  Texas — 
has,  far  more  than  that  of  other  groups,  the  characteris- 
tics of  a  provincial  press. 

The  extent  to  which  a  press  is  provincial  can  be 
measured  roughly  by  the  number  of  local  papers  in 
little  towns.  The  Scandinavians  have  10  local  papers, 
all  of  which  have  less  than  ^2,000  circulation;  the  Ger- 
mans, 71;  the  French,  7,  and  the  Spanish,  28.  How- 
ever, the  big  German  agricultural  magazines,  like  the 
Deutsch-Amerikanischer  Farmer,  with  a  circulation  of 
121,712  (1920),  are  just  as  provincial  in  their  interests 
as  these  little  local  papers. 

To  the  provincial,  the  most  acceptable  news  is  news 
about  people  whom  he  knows  or  places  with  which  he 
is  familiar.  The  first  Assyrian  weekly  ever  printed — 
the  Assyrian  American  Herald  of  Chicago — collect's  let- 
ters containing  information  about  the  relatives  and 
friends  of  the  AssjT-ians  in  the  United  States.  The 
Nordstjeman,  the  largest  Swedish  paper  in  the  East, 
has  a  front  page  which  contains  nothing  but  news  of 
the  Swedish  provinces.  For  the  sake  of  this  page  the 
Swedish  immigrant,  who  depends  on  American  news- 
papers for  current  information,  will  subscribe  to  a 
Swedish  paper. 

The  first  considerable  Norwegian  emigration  was  of 
people  from  the  province  of  Stavanger.    These  people 

135 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

settled  in  Lee,  Kendel,  and  Grundel  counties,  Illinois; 
and  the  Visergutten,  which  is  published  at  Stony  City, 
Iowa,  though  a  regular  local  paper,  is  also,  to  a  large 
extent,  the  organ  of  the  Stavanger  folk  in  the  United 
States.  These  people  are  organized,  and  every  year 
they  have  a  reunion  to  which  people  come  from  all  over 
the  country. 

The  Germans  had,  in  1917,  571  provincial  societies 
in  the  United  States.  ^  There  are  nine  papers  in  the 
German  language  which  print  nothing  but  provincial 
news.  Six  of  these  papers  represent  the  emigration 
from  Luxemburg,  Schwaben,  Bayern,  the  Weser  region, 
Ostfriesland,  and  Schleswig-Holstein  respectively,  from 
which  provinces  the  bulk  of  the  German  immigration 
of  the  nineteenth  century  came.- 

The  press  of  the  German-Russians,  who  are  Men- 
nonites,  shows  what  the  provincial  press  was  in  its  be- 
ginnings. Many  of  these  people  left  the  Volga  colonies 
of  Russia  in  1890,  because  their  faith  would  not  allow 
them  to  fight,  and  returned  to  Germany  or  came  to 
America.  During  the  recent  war  some  of  them  left,  the 
United  States  and  moved  to  Canada ;  and  now  that  the 
war  is  over,  there  is  some  talk  of  their  re-emigrating  to 
the  Western  states.  The  church  papers  serve  to  main- 
tain the  relations  between  families  and  acquaintances 
in  Russia,  Germany,  the  United  States,  and  Canada. 
Like  the  Scandinavian  immigrants  who  came  to  the 
United  States,  they  have  clung  to  the  literary  language 
as  a  symbol  of  nationality,  and  there  is  no  dialect  in 
their  press. 

1  Vcreins  Adress  Buck,  fur  das  Jahr  1916-lR,  German-American 
Directory  Publishing  Company,  Milwaukee,  ^Yisconsin. 

2  Luxembergcr  Vereinszeitung*  Chicago;  Schwabisches  Wochen- 
hlatt.  New  York  City;  Bayerisches  Wochenblati,  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land; Weser-Nachrichten,  Chicago;  Ostfriessische  Nachrichten,  Breda, 
Iowa;  Nachrichten  aus  Schlesmg-Holstein,  Oak  Park,  Illinois. 

*  American  Newspaper  Armxud  and  Directory,  1920,  N.  W.  Ayer  &  Son. 

136 


THE  PROVINCL\L  TRESS 

Most  of  the  provincial  groups  have  two  languages: 
an  Americanized  dialect  which  they  speak,  and  a  lite- 
rary language  which  is  also  the  language  of  the 
churches.  In  the  Norwegian  churches,  for  example, 
the  literary  language  is  preached  from  the  pulpit,  and 
after  the  service  the  congregation  greet  each  other  and 
converse  in  the  dialect  of  the  neighborhood. 

The  quotations  from  the  provincial  press,  which 
illustrate  these  traits,  have  been  grouped  under  the 
headings,  "Heimweh  and  the  Backward  View,"  "The 
Stern  Religion  of  the  Fathers,"  and  "The  Secluded 
Life." 

HEiarWEH   AND   THE   BACKWARD   VIEW 

The  provincial  press  is  the  press  of  a  passing  genera- 
tion. Its  readers,  so  far  as  they  belong  to  the  German 
and  Scandinavian  groups,  are  mostly  old  people  whose 
minds  are  turning  back  vdih  eagerness,  soi  ^timcs  with 
homesickness,  to  their  memories.  They  are  eager  to 
correspond  with  others  who  have  the  same  memories, 
who  knew  the  same  countryside  in  youth.  The  discov- 
ery of  a  mutual  acquaintance  is  a  bond  of  steel.  They 
like  to  talk  about  old  landmarks,  and  the  use  of  the 
mother  tongue  takes  on  an  especial  sanctity. 

Old  Acquaintances 

Lehigh,  June  2oth. 
Health,  happiness,  and  every  blessing  to  the  staff  and  all 
the  readers! 

While  I  am  writing  this,  my  thoughts  go  back  like  light- 
ning to  my  old  home — Russia — in  a  desire  to  know  what  the 
situation  is  there.  I  hope  that  the  dear  God  will  also  give 
them  a  rich  harvest  and  help  those  who  stand  in  need  of  it. 
I  hope  that  the  readers  over  there  will  keep  us  in  touch  with 
everything  that  happens. 

It  would  be  very  interesting  to  me  to  read  in  this  paper 
who  are  now  the  oldest  people  in  my  birthplace — Dreispitz — 
Russia.    Here  in  Lehigh,  the  oldest  person  from  Dreispitz  is 

137 


THE  IMMIGR/VNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Mother  Andreas  Meier,  who  is  in  her  eighties,  but  still  hardy. 
A  little  ways  away  there  are  also  some  other  old  Dreispitzer: 
Julia  Feil,  Gottfried  Langholfer,  and  Gottfried  Herbel,  and 
a  few  others. 

I  belong  in  the  sixties,  my  long  beard  is  pretty  gray  though 
by  tliis  time.  In  the  forty-two  years  that  I  have  lived  here 
I  have  grown  old  and  gray,  but  I  have  never  regretted  that 
I  went  to  America;  I  only  wish  that  many  more  of  my  friends 
were  also  here. 

Herewith  I  think  I  must  close  to-day.  More  some  other  time. 

Geokg  Heinze  1 

Thanks,  Carl  Jonason  of  Britain,  South  Dakota,  for  your 
letter  in  the  paper.  Indeed  I  remember  you,  even  though  it 
was  long  ago.  You  wonder  if  my  name  is  changed.  Yes, 
two  times  at  least  since  I  came  here.  You  also  have  been 
married  twice.  Your  other  wife  was  Swedish-American,  the 
sister  of  John  in  Ramshult.    Let  us  hear  from  you  again. 

Also,  I  was  surprised  to  see  a  letter  from  you,  Nelson,  the 
miller  of  Hjulsnas.  Indeed,  I  remember  you  and  even  Carl 
and  Gustav.  One  is  married  in  Leadville,  Colo.,  the  other 
died  in  Dakota.  Of  course,  you  know  my  father,  John 
Person  of  Tammaryd.  I  do  not  know  who  has  my  father's 
place  now.  In  the  large  village  Skarap,  we  had  many  happy 
occasions,  as  the  man  of  Skane  said  when  he  buried  his  dead 
wife;  "I  can't  keep  from  laughing,"  said  he,  "when  I  think 
of  the  happy  hours  I  had  with  that  wife  of  mine."  If  any 
acquaintances  who  knows  me  see  this,  let  us  hear  from  you 
sometime.^ 

Mother  Tongue 

As  you  print  so  many  letters  in  your  paper,  I  would  like 
to  ask  you  to  print  mine  too.  I  have  two  sons  in  the  war, 
one  of  whom  has  been  in  France  since  Christmas.  He  used 
to  write  his  letters  in  German.  Since  he  is  in  France,  he 
writes  in  English.  It  is  not  forbidden  to  write  in  German, 
but  the  captain  says  he  cannot  read  German  and  he  has  to 
read  the  letters  before  they  arc  sent.    So  I  am  sending  you  two 

1  Mennonitische  Rundschau  (German),  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania. 
^  Svenska  Amerikanaren  (Swedish),  Chicago,  Illinois. 
138 


THE  PROVINCIAL  PRESS 

letters,  with  the  request  that  you  will  translate  them  into 
German  and  publish  them  in  the  paper.  Sometimes  I  do  not 
understand  half  of  what  is  in  the  letters.  So  it  would  be  a 
real  favor  to  me  if  I  could  read  them  in  the  paper.  With 
S^^^^^Ssl'  Samuel  LiEDTKE 

PiAPOT,  Saskatchewan,  June  16,  1917. 

Since  you  are  so  anxious  that  the  readers  send  in  new  sub- 
scriptions, I  will  do  my  part  too  and  send  in  some  with  this 
letter.  If  every  reader  would  do  his  duty  now,  the  number 
of  readers  would  increase  by  thousands.  We  are  living 
in  a  time  when  speech  is  silver  but  silence  is  golden.  So  let 
us  when  it  is  necessary  "keep  our  mouths  shut,"  but  on  the 
other  hand,  let  us  support  this  silent  messenger  our  paper 
energetically,  so  that  it  spreads  in  every  direction  under  the 
sun,  and  so  that  it  may  serve  us  with  spiritual  nourishment 
from  near  and  far  places  every  week. 

In  my  last  report  I  wrote  that  we  had  rain.  But  for  a 
week  we  have  had  nothing  but  hot  winds.  If  we  do  not  have 
rain  quickly,  our  harvest  is  gone.  It  all  lies  in  God's  omnipo- 
tent hand. 

Where  is  our  Jakol  Jahraus,  from  whom  we  have  not  heard 
anything  for  such  a  long  time.'  However,  I  must  stop.  With 
greetings  to  all  the  readers  and  the  publishers!  your  comrade. 

Gottfried  Frey  ^ 

The  Home  Earth 

Severance,  Kansas 
March  11,  1917 
We  like  to  read  the  Osifriessische  Nachrichten  and  they 
have  lots  of  news  about  home.  In  the  twenty-three  years 
I  was  in  Ostfriesland  I  did  not  learn  as  much  about  my  home 
as  I  have  learned  recently  through  the  Osifriessische  Nach- 
richten. It  was  interesting  to  me  to  read  the  story  of  Focko 
Ukena,  who  was  my  ancestor. 

Georg  R.  Ukena  ' 

^  Osifriessische  Nachrichten  (German),  Breda,  Iowa. 
*  Mennonilische  Rundschau  (German),  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania. 
'  Ostfriessische  Nachrichten  (German),  Breda,  Iowa. 
10  139 


TOE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Published  at  request: 

O,  if  I  could  hear  again 

In  German  forests,  green  and  cool. 
The  birds  in  May,  and  dream  beside 

The  black  wood  pool. 
O,  to  find  and  smell  again 

Wood-violets  meek. 
To  fall  asleep  on  woodlawn  mosses 

The  Rhineland's  breezes  on  my  cheek.* 

Herewith  I  am  sending  a  year's  subscription  for  the  paper. 
I  am  thinking  about  going  to  Orsa,  in  the  old  Dalon  (Sweden), 
in  order  that  my  grave  may  be  with  the  graves  of  my  fathers. 
This  I  am  doing  even  although  I  have  been  in  North  America 
since  I  was  twenty  years  old,  or  since  18G9.  I  have  traveled 
almost  all  over  the  entire  country  four  times  and  have  been 
to  Sweden  three  times,  also  have  visited  England,  Ireland, 
Scotland,  Wales,  France,  Belgium,  Holland,  Germany,  Den- 
mark, Norway,  and  the  Mexican  republic.  But  in  no  place 
have  I  felt  myself  more  at  home  than  in  Dalon,  in  all  the  other 
places  I  have  been  dissatisfied." 

THE   STERN   RELIGION   OF   TKE   FATHERS 

The  provincial  press  is  mainly  a  religious  press.  The 
religion  which  it  represents  is  the  older,  sterner  religion 
of  an  earlier  generation,  which  has  remained  relatively 
untouched  by  the  customs  and  thought  of  the  cities. 

They  insist  upon  literal  interpretation  of  the  old  laws 
and  strict  conformation  to  the  old  customs.  They  look 
with  horror  on  the  "new  theology,"  and  condemn  the 
frivolity  of  modern  young  people. 

The  Faith  of  15S0 
The  Synod,  when  it  was  founded,  based  itself  on  the  com- 
plete word  of  God  as  it  is  found  m  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment, and  on  the  complete  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Evan- 

*  Germania  (German),  Milwaukee. 
2  Svenska  Amcrikanaren  (Swedish),  Chicago. 
140 


THE  PROVINCLVL  PRESS 

gelical  Lutheran  Church  as  it  is  laid  down  in  the  Concordance 
Book  of  1580,  which  must  be  true  of  every  Lutheran  SjTiod 
that  can,  with  right,  deserve  this  name. 

In  some  places  people  rebelled  against  the  private  confes- 
sional, this  old  Lutheran  institution  that,  because  of  its  use- 
fulness and  blessing,  we  would  like  to  have  brought  into 
practice  again  in  addition  to  the  general  confession.  But  the 
Synod  had  to  let  the  matter  drop  because  not  only  the  need, 
but  the  understanding  of  it,  was  lacking.  The  assembling  of 
a  congregation  was  often  made  difficult  on  this  account — the 
longer  we  were  here,  the  more  the  spirit  of  the  loclges  or  secret 
societies  were  a  stumbling  block  in  the  path  of  church  ad- 
ministration and  the  meetings  of  the  church.  As  most  of 
the  lodges  had  and  have  religious  practices,  which  exclude 
Jesus  Christ,  the  only  Saviour  of  the  world,  the  SjTiod  had  to 
declare  its  position  in  regard  to  them,  and  this  position 
could  not  be  otherwise  than  opposed  and  condemnatory.* 

Many  hearty  thanks  for  the  article  on  "The  Trend  of  the 
New  Theology"  in  the  last  number  of  the  Standard.  \Miat 
further  fresh  witness  do  we  need  here  at  home,  now  that  we 
have  heard  the  blasphemy.'  This  trend  has  already  gone  far 
by  word  of  mouth;  now  it  is  beginning  to  spread  itself  in 
print  with  more  powerful  expression  than  before,  it  seems. 
On  the  mission  field  this  new  theological  trend  from  the 
University  of  Chicago  is  in  full  swing.  Already  it  has  created 
astonishment.  Note  a  few  lines  from  a  letter  which  has 
come  to  us  from  a  native  preacher: 

"Things  are  somewhat  better  in  X,  since  the  imbelieving 
clergy  have  left  the  island;  but  although  these  have  gone, 
other  new  ones  have  come.  I  cannot  understand  how  the 
boards  can  send  these  missionaries  to  de-Christianize  the 
churches." 

Just  a  short  quotation  on  the  subject  from  the  book  of  the 
veteran,  Dr.  August  H.  Strong,  which  has  already  been  men- 
tioned in  Standaret  [he  berates  the  Biblical  interpretations  of 

*  Yearbook  of  the  German  Lutheran  Synod  of  Iowa,  1917,  German 
Lutheran  Publishing  Company,  623  South  Wabash  Avenue,  Chicago. 

141 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

some  of  the  young  men  who  now  are  going  to  the  mission 
field] 

A  further  quotation  from  this  honored  man  who  for  forty 
years  has  trained  ministers  for  this  land  and  for  the  mission 
fields,  where  more  tlian  a  hundred  of  his  students  are  now 
laboring:  "Some  of  our  best  missionaries  have  said  to  me, 
'May  the  Lord  preserve  me  from  such  co-workers!'"  and 
further:  "This  evil  comes  over  us  like  a  flood  and  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  shall  surely  lift  up  the  standard  against  it.  But 
it  is  such  a  pity  that  money,  given  by  God-fearing  men  for 
the  purpose  of  sending  men  to  spread  the  Gospel  in  these 
fields,  shall  be  used  to  undermine  the  works  of  Christianity." 

In  this  city  (Los  Angeles,  California)  is  a  man  of  prayer 
who  seems  to  have  no  equal.  The  other  Sunday  we  heard 
him  in  the  city's  largest  temple,  in  a  fervent  prayer,  call 
down,  not  God's  blessing  on  the  University  of  Chicago,  but 
God's  judgment  upon  the  leaders  in  the  institution,  so  that 
they  may  be  confused  and  confounded.  Since  reading  Standa- 
ret  to-day,  we  better  understand  the  justification  of  the  prayer 
of  this  man  of  faith.    Again  I  thank  you!  ^ 

Heinrich  Foth,  of  Wonzos,  Jacob  Foth's  son,  broke  his 
foot  and  died  a  few  days  later.  Johann  Kheiver's  Heinrich 
died  of  typhus  while  he  was  in  camp  and  their  son  Leonhard 
drowned  when  he  was  in  swimming.  All  these  have  entered 
eternity  before  us,  and  if  they  held  fast  here  to  the  faith 
they  can  now  be  at  peace.  May  the  dear  Lord  make  us 
ready  too  to  go  in  this  serious  time  in  which  recklessness  and 
indifference  to  His  mercy  is  so  great  and  peace  has  been  taken 
away  from  the  peoples  of  the  earth.     Revelations,  vi:4.  .  .  . 

Now  hearty  greetings  to  all  of  you.  May  God  protect  you 
all,  your  parents  and  brother  and  sister  in  the  Lord. 

H.  and  A.  Heier.* 

The  Sinner  and  the  Fear  of  God 

Before  the  people  convert  themselves,  they  must  name  the 
sins  by  name.    They  must  see  the  extreme  sin  from  the  sins. 

^  Srenska  Standard   (Swedish),   Chicago.     (Communication  from 
E.  Lund,  Los  Angeles,  California.) 
*  Mennonitische  Rundschau  (German),  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania. 
142 


THE  PROVINCIAL  PRESS 

Men  In  our  nation  have  not  seen  that  blackmail  is  plunder, 
that  embezzlement  is  stealing,  that  speculation  is  gambling, 
that  evading  taxes  is  robbery  against  the  government,  that 
discrimination  by  railroads  is  cheating,  that  labor  of  children 
in  factories  is  slavery,  that  poisonous  substitutes  is  murder. 
It  is  not  yet  clear  to  them  that  the  deceitful  protectors  eat 
up  the  home  of  the  widow,  that  the  monopolist  grinds  the  face 
of  the  poor,  that  selfish  publishers  and  charmers  give  bitter 
for  sweet  and  sweet  for  bitter.  What  the  human  being  sows, 
that  he  shall  reap.  For  he  who  sows  in  his  own  flesh,  shall 
reap  ruin  from  the  flesh. 

We  sow  ruin  in  the  dead  bodies  of  our  sons  in  the  graves  of 
the  soldiers  in  France. 

O,  cruel,  robber-usurious  Belgium!  O,  God-forsaking 
France  with  your  prostitute  Paris!  0,  drunken  England! 
O,  America,  loving  riches  and  adoring  the  dollar!  God  calls 
you  to  sentence  over  your  sins.  Go,  stand  in  His  temple 
with  bowed  head  and  beating  your  breast  and  cry:  "O,  God, 
be  merciful  to  us  sinners."  And  God  shall  cleanse  you  of 
your  sins.  He  shall  lead  you  in  the  path  of  righteousness. 
He  shall  refresh  your  souls. » 

In  our  day  the  question  is  often  asked,  especially  by  young 
Christians,  "Mu.st  I  as  a  Christian  do  this  or  that?"  The 
first  Christians  showed  how  much  one  could  give  up  for 
Jesus'  sake;  in  our  time,  people  seem  to  want  to  find  out 
how  much  they  can  keep  and  still  be  good  Christians.  Is 
dancing  a  sin?  Is  theater-going  a  sin?  But  the  question 
shows  right  away  that  he  who  asks  has  not  the  right  inward 
attitude,  which  is  only  anxious  to  please  the  Lord.  The  per- 
son who  asks  usually  has  a  mind  bound  by  sinful  lust  and 
habits  and  tries  to  justify  himself  by  getting  others  to  declare 
that  his  conduct  is  blameless. 

"All  that  you  do  in  word  and  deed  that  do  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,"  says  the  apostle.  Therefore,  what  we  cannot  do  in 
the  name  of  Jesus,  whatever  disturbs  our  communion  with 
Him,  whatever  weakens  our  spiritual  power,  whatever  puts 


^  Volksvriend  (Dutch),  Orange  City,  Iowa,  June  27,  1918. 
143 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

us  in  a  position  of  doing  the  same  thing  that  the  world  does; 
that  is  nut  allowed.' 

The  free-thinking  Berlin  Tagehlati  calls  the  rescue  of  these 
children  "a  wonderful  saving  of  life,"  even  though  it  still 
retains  the  point  of  view  that  there  are  no  wonders.  But 
sometimes  even  unbelief  aclcnowledges  that  a  greater  Power 
intervenes,  just  as  in  fear  many  cry  to  God,  who  otherwise 
want  to  know  nothing  of  Him." 


THE   SECLUDED    LIFE 

The  provincial  press  is  full  of  letters.  The  writers  of 
these  letters  lead  quiet  and  simple  lives.  Their  great 
interests  are  the  crops  and  the  weather.  The  coming  of 
the  paper,  an  occasional  letter  from  a  friend,  make  the 
excitement  of  the  week. 

H.iELAN,  Iowa,  April  2. 
The  Ostfriessische  Nachrickten  has  become  a  necessity  to 
me,  for  one  is  so  glad  to  hear  from  old  friends  when  one  has 
made  so  many  in  the  course  of  a  long  lifetime.  At  home  I 
served  for  four  years  as  a  farm  helper  and  as  foreman  in  the 
Sande  district.  In  1867  I  came  to  America;  spent  four  years 
in  Forrestin,  Iowa,  where  I  found  many  Ostfriessen;  worked 
fifteen  years  on  the  railroad;  and  was  a  farmer  for  thirty 
years  in  Shelby  County,  Iowa.  Now  I  have  retired  from 
farming  and  live  here  as  the  only  Ostfriessen.  In  the  loneli- 
ness my  thoughts  often  wander  back  to  old  friends.  If  any 
of  the  readers  should  remember  me,  I  would  be  very  grateful 
for  a  letter.    With  hearty  good  wishes  to  all. 

Harm  Hulsebus  ^ 

KiNCOUETH,  Saskatchewan 
June  19. 
After  long  silence,  I  have  the  desire  to  write  again  to  your 
readers.    The  weather  this  year  is  not  very  favorable.    Lots 

1  Mennonitische  Rundschau  (German),  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania. 

2  Ibid. 

2  Ostfriessische  Nachrickten  (German),  Breda,  Iowa. 
144 


THE  PROVINCIAL  PRESS 

of  poor  farmers  will  have  to  open  their  purses  wide  to  pay 
for  feed  for  their  cattle.  Opening  one's  purse  would  be  no 
great  art  if  there  were  much  in  it.  But  the  two-edged  prov- 
erb has  it  "Money  is  the  least  necessary  thing."  So  many 
farmers  sit  and  ponder  deeply  over  the  future. 

O,  that  God  in  His  mercy  would  relent  and  take  pity  on 
His  children  and  help  us  out  of  our  dire  necessity  with  a 
soaking  rain,  so  that  at  least  there  would  be  a  little  feed 
grown.  Only  so  would  the  heavy  care  be  taken  from  the 
shoulders  of  many.  To-day  is  the  fourth  day  that  the  wind 
blows  from  the  east,  which  one  regards  here  in  Canada  as  a 
sign  of  rain.  [The  east  wind  sign  for  rain  also  exists  in  Kan- 
sas and  Oklahoma  and  jjerhaps  in  other  states. — Editor.] 
But  an  east  wind  had  often  made  us  believe  that  we  were 
going  to  have  rain  and  we  were  disappointed.  Often  it  would 
get  dark,  the  lightenings  would  blaze,  the  thunders  would 
crash,  and  just  when  we  thought  it  was  going  to  rain,  the 
wind  would  turn  and  blow  it  all  away.  In  another  district, 
it  is  said  to  have  rained  hard,  but  here  we  were  subject  to 
the  wind  and  the  dust.  We  have  not  yet  given  up  hope, 
however,  for  the  old  God  still  lives.  Lots  of  people  said  this 
spring  that  this  year  we  would  have  a  good  harvest,  but  we 
are  gradually  coming  to  admit  that  all  the  prophesies  are 
wrong.  Enough  for  this  time,  or  else  I  will  cook  my  goose 
with  the  editor  with  this  long  complaint. 

[The  editor  would  not  be  afraid 

If  you  had  written  more,  instead. 

He  only  hopes  that  it  will  rain, 

And  you  will  have  sufficient  grain. — Ed.] 

With  greetings  to  the  readers  and  the  staff,  I  am  Your 
Fellow  reader, 

Adolf  A.  Anhorn,  son  of  Gottlieb  ^ 

There  is  more  of  the  element  of  adventure  to  be  found 
among  the  French  and  Spanish  than  among  the  other 
provincial  groups.    These  are  border  peoples,  and  their 

1  Metinonitische  Rundschau  (German),  Scottdale,  Pennsylvania. 
145 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

situation  gives  opportunity  for  smuggling  and  other 
evasions  of  the  law. 

For  a  Great  Theft  of  Furs. 
An  individual  of  La  Riviere-du-Loup,  Province  of  Quebec, 

was  arrested  to-day  in  Salem. 
SALEM — Charles  Levassau,  of  La  Riviere-du-Loup,  Que- 
bec, was  arrested  Monday  at  the  order  of  the  chief  of  Police 
of  Rimouski. 

Levassau  is  accused  of  stealing  silver  fox  skins  valued  at 
$10,000.1 


They  lose  their  Loot. 

Two  valises  containing  twenty  gallons  of  whiskey 

are  seized  by  the  police. 

NORTH  ADAMS— Dolphus  Denault,  forty-four  years  old, 

of  Beaver  Street,  this  city,  and  Wilfred  Gosselin,  twenty-two 

years  old,  of  Lacolle,  Canada,  who  were  arrested  for  having 

illegally  smuggled  intoxicating  liquors  to  this  country,  were 

taken  to  Plattsburg,  New  York,  by  inspector  Harry  Gondreau, 

who  succeeded  in  catching  them. 

Pierre  Parker,  a  brother-in-law  of  Denault,  was  also  ar- 
rested in  Canada  to  answer  a  similar  accusation. 

It  seems  that  Denault  went  to  Canada,  where  he  bought 
the  liquor  which  he  smuggled  to  North  Adams  through 
Gosselin.2 


The  Burke  Case  Opens 
This  Case  is  Arousing  Very  Great  Interest  in  Maine 
SKOWHEGAN,  Maine— The  suit  against  John  H.  Burke, 
once  sheriff  of  Somerset  County,  who  is  accused  of  the  mur- 
der of  Nelson  W.  Bartley  of  Jackman,  began  to-day  in  the 
Court  of  Assizes. 

Bartley  w^as  the  proprietor  of  a  famous  inn  at  Jackman 
which  was  the  meeting  place  of  all  the  huntsmen  of  the  east. 

^  Opinion  Publique  (French),  Worcester,  Massachusetts. 
^Ibid. 

146 


THE  PROVINCIAL  PRESS 

He  is  one  of  the  best-loiown  figures  in  the  region  and  the  case 
has  awakened  considerable  interest. 

The  Bartley  brothers  were  very  well  acquainted  with  the 
smuggling  of  whiskies  and  furs  that  goes  on  at  Jackman. 
This  village  is  very  near  the  Canadian  boundary  and  is  well 
known  as  the  rendezvous  of  the  smugglers. 

The  authorities,  who  have  for  several  weeks  been  seeking 
for  the  cause  of  the  murder,  declare  that  they  have  found  it. 
It  concerns  a  yoimg  girl  who  has  been  held  as  witness  by  the 
state.  It  seems  that  she  entertained  a  good  deal  of  affection 
for  Bartley  and  also  for  Burke. 

Fifty  witnesses,  five  medical  exp>erts,  two  exp>erts  in  hand- 
writing, and  sixty  candidates  for  the  jury  have  arrived  in 
Skowhegan  for  the  trial. 

The  choice  of  a  jury  was  made  to-day.  The  trial  will  last 
at  least  two  weeks.' 

A  picture  of  the  simplicity  and  beauty  of  the  lives 
of  these  readers  is  often  revealed  in  their  letters. 

Dear  Editor:  After  a  long  time  I  am  coming  again  with 
few  news.  I  would  do  it  sooner  already,  but  it  was  impossible 
to  me,  being  very  busy  with  the  farm  work.  In  the  first 
place  I  must  thank  the  officers  of  the  "Apostolate  of  Prayers" 
for  the  pictures  which  they  liave  sent  me.  They  are  very 
beautiful  pictures  with  prayers  and  litanies.  I  recommend 
them  to  all  readers  of  this  paper. 

The  children  of  this  school  have  played  a  nice  play  which 
a  considerable  number  of  people  came  to  see.  Admission 
totaled  $20.50,  which  amoimt  was  donated  to  the  Red  Cross. 
May  12th  we  had  in  our  church  of  the  Lord  a  beautiful  cele- 
bration; two  new  statues  have  been  dedicated  to  the  Heart 
of  Lord  Jesus  and  St.  Joseph.  These  have  been  bought  with 
the  help  of  our  parishioners  by  our  Reverend.  At  two  o'clock 
all  parishioners  met  in  the  church  of  the  Lord.  When  the 
most  Reverend  gentleman  who  was  coming  to  help  our 
Reverend  master  arrived,  all  the  parishioners  left  the  church 
and  arranged  a  procession.     The  girls  (white-dressed)  were 

1  Opinion  Publique  (French),  Worcester,  Massachusetts. 
147 


THE  IMAIIGRANT  TRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

carrying  the  statue  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus  and  men  carried 
the  statue  of  St.  Joseph.  When  they  stepped  in  the  church, 
that  most  Reverend  priest  (whom  I  don't  happen  to  know) 
held  an  Enghsh  sermon,  in  which  he  described  shortly  the 
life  of  Lord  Jesus  and  St.  Joseph;  then  our  Reverend  had  a 
Bohemian  sermon.  After  this,  dedication  of  these  statues 
followed,  then  benediction  with  the  Sacrosanct  and  the  choral 
*'Te  Deum  Laudamus"  and  the  celebration  ended. 

I  say  many  regards  to  editors,  all  readers  and  reporters  of 
this  paper. 

]VL\RTiN  Percelik  * 

The  summer  season  of  1918  is  gone  by  and  we  have  to 
prepare  for  the  winter  as  fast  as  possible.  I  am  always  sorry 
when  the  summer  takes  leave;  its  careless  poetry,  coloration, 
bird  songs,  buzzing  of  insects  and  the  long  days.  Already 
twice  a  sharp  wind  from  the  North  and  Northwest  came, 
before  which  the  ducks  and  geese  have  covered  their  feet, 
and  sitting  in  flocks  on  the  grass  of  the  yard,  have  put  their 
little  heads  behind  their  wings,  as  if  they  would  like  to  say 
that  their  best  thought  of  to-day  is  to  get  w^arm.  But  the 
hen's  mother-instinct  is  not  afraid  of  winter.  Not  long  since 
two  clucking  hens  have  led  their  chicks  from  the  barn,  where 
they  layed  their  eggs  and  where  they  hatched  them  with  a 
resolution.  One  does  not  know  if  he  should  be  angry  over 
such  a  clucking  hen  or  to  laugh  at  her,  when  suddenly  she 
appears  with  her  little  children  in  a  time  %\hen  we  think  that 
the  feeding  and  care  will  cease,  and  when  the  nights  are  cold 
and  rainy  and  the  weather  unsettled.  But  when  they  are 
already  here,  nothing  is  left  but  to  care  for  them  together 
with  the  rest  of  the  chickens,  in  order  that  they  may  dress 
in  a  warm  coat.  The  clucking  hen  takes  a  good  care  of  them 
at  night.  If  one  is  on  a  farm  he  must  get  used  to  the  idea 
that  every  once  in  a  while  something  unexpected  will  happen 
and  then  he  must  leave  go  everything  else.  Various  experi- 
ences harden  even  the  most  awkward  novice  so  that  he  docs 
not  become  excited  by  anything  and  learns  to  think  and  act 
quickly. 

^  Narod  (Bohemian),  Chicago,  May  30,  1918. 
148 


THE  PROVINCIAL  PRESS 

I  am  trjTDg  to  figure  out  why  this  season  has  passed  so 
quickly;  I  am  finding  an  explanation  for  it  in  that  the  novelty 
of  farming  was  not  quite  as  interesting  as  in  the  first  season, 
and  then  also  in  that  our  thoughts  have  been  more  attracted 
to  what  happens  in  Eiu-ope  than  to  our  own  neighborhood. 
Till  the  middle  of  July  it  has  seemed  as  if  the  Germans  will 
have  to  push  thru  to  Paris  and  to  the  main  French  ports — 
Calais  and  Dunkirk — and  later,  when  the  victory  so  heavily 
paid  for  turned  in  the  course  of  a  single  day  into  a  large 
defeat  and  the  Germans  began  their  way  back  so  as  they 
are  forced  to  continue  all  the  time,  the  days  and  weeks  were 
measured  according  to  that  what  had  been  accomplished  in 
France  and  not  according  to  the  work  on  farm.  And  in  the 
meantime,  days  and  weeks  are  passing  in  a  foolish  flight  into 
the  past  and  leave  almost  no  trace  in  memories.  Except, 
when  a  friendly  soul  calls  in  for  a  day  or  two  or  when  the 
course  of  monotony  is  interrupted  by  a  departure  to  the 
dear  New  York.  This  interrupts  somewhat  that  fast  journey 
into  the  future.  The  calls  on  friends  and  those  in  New  York 
are  to  me  like  stops  at  nice  interesting  stations,  where  one 
can  see  and  learn  many  news.  When  the  call  is  over,  we 
went  again  in  the  fast  train  of  the  daily  toil  and  everyday 
worries,  and  go  and  go — nobody  knows  where.* 

*  Baltimorske  Listy  (Bohemian),  Chicago,  September  13,  1918. 


VII 

THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

The  cosmopolitan  press  is,  in  the  main,  the  press  of 
migrant  industrial  workers,  and  the  groups  most  sep- 
arate from  the  American  life  or  the  exotics.  It  is  the 
press  of  a  people  who  live  in  cities,  but  more  or  less  in 
isolation  from  the  American  community.  They  exist 
in  a  world  in  which  much  is  going  on,  and  they  depend 
upon  the  newspapers  in  their  own  language  for  their 
knowledge  about  it.  In  the  metropolitan  press,  crime 
and  the  dramatic  phases  of  life  replace  the  personal  and 
religious  news  and  the  general  reminiscent  tone  of  the 
provincial  press.  Four  hundred  and  sixty-three  papers, 
published  in  twenty-eight  languages,  make  up  the  cos- 
mopolitan press. 

The  Japanese  and  the  Yiddish  press,  although  each 
has  a  marked  personality  which  perfectly  expresses  the 
idiosyncrasies  of  its  group,  are  the  most  characteristic 
and  interesting  forms  of  the  cosmopolitan  press.  The 
Jews  have  nineteen  papers  in  Manhattan  alone,  and 
the  Japanese  have  twenty-nine  papers  in  the  coast 
cities  of  Seattle,  Los  Angeles,  and  San  Francisco. 
These  papers  typify  the  variety  and  sophistication  of 
the  urban  press. 

THE  JAPANESE   PRESS 

The  Japanese  are  among  the  most  exotic  of  the  immi- 
grant groups.  They  are  not  allowed  to  belong  to  labor 
unions,  nor  to  become  citizens.  Although  they  are 
largely  an  agricultural  people,  they  work  as  migrant 

150 


THE  COSMOPOLIT.^  PRESS 

laborers  in  communities  where  agriculture  is  more 
highly  organized  and  specialized  than  elsewhere.  The 
bitter  hostility  of  the  Americans  on  the  coast  increases 
their  isolation.  While  all  this  tends  to  limit  the  horizon 
of  their  interests,  it  also  creates  a  heightened  self- 
consciousness  which  finds  expression,  not  in  political 
or  nationalistic  activities,  but  in  intensified  sentiment, 
in  humor,  and  in  the  efficiency  of  the  press  and  their 
other  social  organizations. 

In  San  Francisco,  Seattle,  and  Los  Angeles,  the 
Japanese-American  community  attains  organization. 
San  Francisco  is  the  old  capital  of  the  Japanese,  the 
center  of  intellectual  life,  and  of  commercial  and  official 
relations  with  the  home  country.  Its  dailies,  the  Japa- 
nese American  News  and  the  New  World,  have  editorials 
and  articles  on  such  topics  as  Americanization  and 
Reconstruction.  San  Francisco  has  only  seven  papers 
to  Los  Angeles'  twelve,  but  these  two  dailies  lead  the 
press  with  a  combined  circulation  of  21,000. 

Los  Angeles  is  the  newest  Japanese  center.  Its  papers 
circulate  in  the  agricultural  settlements  of  the  Japanese 
around  Los  Angeles.  The  two  dailies — the  Japanese 
Daily  News  and  the  Sun — have  daily  market  reports  for 
the  truck  gardeners.  These  papers  are  full  of  gossip, 
sensation,  and  fiction.  They  contain  articles  on  the 
care  of  babies,  the  Los  .Angeles  birth  rate  of  the  Japanese 
being  four  times  as  high  as  that  of  San  Francisco.  It 
has  also  a  number  of  prefectural  papers,  the  largest  of 
which  is  the  Gei-Bi-Jin,  whose  900  readers  emigrated 
from  the  prefecture  of  Hiroshima,  Japan.  This  paper 
urges  its  readers  to  rivalry  with  other  prefectural 
groups. 

Seattle  is  an  older  community,  and  the  stream  of 
travel  and  commerce  that  pours  into  its  seaport  keeps 
the  interest  in  Japanese  news  alive.  The  dailies  no 
longer  carry  merely  local  news,  as  do  those  in  Los 

151 


THE  BBIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Angeles;  but,  like  the  Los  Angeles  papers,  they  have 
no  editorials.  They  have  worked  out  something  which 
seems  more  satisfactory  to  their  readers. 

The  Great  Northern  Daily  News  of  Seattle  prints  no  edito- 
rials. There  is,  however,  a  column  devoted  to  the  use  of  the 
editor  and  contributors  for  miscellaneous  discussions  and 
observations.  Here  one  reads  whimsical  remarks  and  mock- 
philosophical  observations  on  life,  death,  suicide,  funerals, 
the  new  world  order,  etc.  It  is  from  this  column  that  I 
learn  that  the  editor,  Mr.  K.  Takeuchi,  has  been  an  old 
bachelor  and  remained  hostile  to  the  fair  sex  imtil  he  accepted 
a  picture-bride  in  June,  1918,  since  which  date  his  position 
has  necessarily  been  compromised.  But  he  still  hoUls  that 
woman  is  not  fully  entitled  to  be  called  a  human  being. 

.  .  .  He  speaks  little  of  politics,  but  goes  into  the  heart  of 
the  people,  although  the  subject  of  his  remarks  is  usually 
trifling.  He  has  a  thorough  American  viewpoint  and  is 
sympathetic  toward  American  life;  e.g.,  he  picked  up  some 
of  the  humorous  experiences  of  the  Asahi  Baseball  Club, 
which  was  composed  of  all  American-born  Japanese  yoimg 
men  who  were  sent  to  Japan  a  year  ago.  It's  just  about  as 
humorous  as  Mark  Twain's  Innocents  Abroad.^ 

Outside  the  three  big  cities,  the  Japanese  population 
is  more  or  less  migratory,  and  the  press  deals  almost 
exclusively  with  local  gossip. 

Early  in  the  present  century  the  Japanese  laborers  com- 
menced to  pour  into  the  intermoimtain  region  from  the 
Pacific  coast.  The  nomadic,  shiftless,  and  turbulent  popu- 
lace was  about  to  settle  into  something  like  stable  communi- 
ties when  Mr.  Lida  began  his  journalistic  career  with  the 
first  Japanese  vernacular  newspaper  in  the  whole  region. 
He  had  once  been  a  school-teacher  in  his  home  province  in 
Japan,  and  was  one  of  the  few  intellectual  leaders  among  the 
immigrants  in  the  moimtain  states.  He  is  still  one  of  the 
best  liked  and  most  respected  men  among  the  Japanese  in 

1  Unpublished  notes  of  Shiko  Kusama. 
152 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

that  district.  He  has  been  successful.  He  advises  his  fellow 
countrymen  to  settle  on  farms,  and  his  paper,  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Times  of  Salt  Lake  City,  tries  to  assist  the  farmers. 
It,  of  course,  disseminates  local  news,  supplies  reading  mate- 
rial, and  acts  as  advertising  medium  for  the  large  mining 
companies,  beet-sugar  companies,  and  railroads,  which  need 
a  large  number  of  men  at  different  seasons  of  the  year.  The 
paper  welcomes  literary  contributions  from  its  readers,  who 
find  great  pleasure  in  seeing  their  poems  and  stories  in  print. 
The  paper  circulates  among  the  Japanese  chiefly  in  Utah, 
Idaho,  and  Wyoming.^ 

The  policy  of  the  Tacoma  Japanese  Times  seems  to  be  to 
appeal  to  the  local  pride  by  praising  Tacoma  and  the  enter-, 
prise  of  the  Tacoma  Japanese.  It  is  anxious  to  show  that 
Tacoma  is  more  prosperous  than  Seattle,  and  to  draw  more 
Japanese  to  the  city.  No  national  news  is  printed,  but  some 
fugitive  news  of  the  Japanese  group  in  town  appears  on  ita^ 
third  page.  The  two  reading  columns  on  the  second  page  are 
devoted  to  poetry  and  literary  contributions,  and  the  third 
to  suggestive  literature  on  women  and  sex  matters  (these  are 
subjects  most  interesting  to  the  community  of  young  un- 
married laboring  men),  while  the  first  page  has  editorials 
and  some  more  literary  contributions.  The  editorial  attitude 
is  frank,  bold,  and  belligerent  toward  the  general  policy  of 
the  larger  and  more  responsible  Japanese  n<'wspapers  in 
many  things.  The  paper  is  strongly  nationalistic,  advocates 
the  teaching  of  the  Japanese  language  to  the  children  in 
America,  and  cultivation  of  the  Japanese  spirit.* 

The  Stockton  Times  is  not  interested  in  news,  which  is  amply 
supplied  by  the  large  San  Francisco  dailies  to  the  residents  of 
Stockton.  It  specializes  in  satires  on  local  persons  and  affairs, 
and  devotes  a  large  portion  of  its  space  to  the  tavern  litera- 
ture, or  the  follies,  humors,  and  scandals  that  emanate  from 
the  local  Japanese  restaurants,  which,  with  their  pretty  wait- 
resses and  sake  bottles,  are  the  great  socializing  institution  of 

'  Unpublished  notes  of  Shiko  Kusama. 

^Ibid. 

153 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

the  Japanese  community.  Here  business  men,  journalists, 
laboring  men  of  the  town,  and  the  farmers  come  to  eat,  to 
drink,  to  chat,  to  quarrel,  and  to  be  made  friends;  to  cele- 
brate some  one's  birthday,  or  to  plan  a  large  business  enter- 
prise— always  to  be  waited  upon  by  the  pretty,  accomplished 
waitresses,  who  play  on  the  samisevs  and  sing. 

These  women  are,  perhaps,  the  most-talked-of  persons  in 
the  Japanese  group.  The  newspaper  publishes  articles  con- 
cerning them  and  those  who  admire  their  beauty.  Auto- 
biographies of  the  local  beauties,  the  confessions  of  prominent 
men  about  their  first  love,  a  notorious  divorce  case,  the  jealous 
host  of  a  certain  restaurant,  are  some  of  the  subjects  that  run 
serially  in  the  paper.  They  make  a  sort  of  literature  of  de- 
cadence, but  reveal  with  an  amazing  realism  the  local  con- 
ditions of  life.  There  seems  to  be  little  invention  in  these 
stories,  and  the  names  are  all  real  names. 

The  editors  and  the  contributors  are  brilliant  writers,  but 
their  interests  are  limited.  They  do  not  discuss  political  and 
social  problems,  but  they  hold  extremely  liberal  views  on 
politics  as  well  as  on  social  morality  and  sex.  They  are 
thorough  believers  in  democracy,  care  very  little  about  the 
hallowed  traditions  of  their  homeland,  and  laugh  at  the 
Imperial  rule  founded  on  a  myth.^ 

The  most  Interesting  things  that  have  been  written 
about  the  Japanese  have  been  written  by  themselves 
and  printed  in  their  own  papers.  It  is  only  in  this  and 
the  Jewish  press  that  the  subjective  life  of  the  immi- 
grant has  become  articulate. 

The  Japanese  society  at  home  is  highly  organized, 
and  the  Japanese  society  here  Is  an  adaptation  of  this 
tradition  to  American  life.  They  retain  most  of  their 
traditional  interests.  Farming  is  the  tradition  in 
Japan,  and  it  remains  the  principal  interest  of  the 
American  community. 

The  Japanese  press  Is  greatly  exercised  in  regard  to 
the  anti-Japanese  movement  on  the  coast,  and  it  re- 

^  Unpublished  notes  of  Shiko  Kusama. 
154, 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

cords  any  manifestation  of  feeling  against  the  Japanese 
which  takes  place  elsewhere  in  the  United  States. 

For  the  present  Japanese  problem  in  California  the  Jap- 
anese press  is  exerting  a  unique  influence  for  their  own  group. 
While  I  was  in  Los  Angeles  I  have  been  asked  a  number  of 
times  whether  there  was  any  anti-Japanese  feeling  or  move- 
ment on  the  part  of  Americans  in  the  Middle  West  or  in  the 
East.  They  seemed  very  much  concerned  about  the  present 
anti-Japanese  agitation  in  the  state.  Nearly  everyone  I  met 
there  spoke  of  it  with  a  seriousness  which  demanded  my  at- 
tention to  the  sources  of  such  information.  .  .  . 

A  little  account  printed  in  the  American  press  was  trans- 
lated at  length  and  was  usually  very  much  longer  than  the 
original  text,  with  an  additional  write-up  by  the  editors. 
(The  items  so  gathered  were  not  confined  to  the  local  events, 
but  were  collected  from  all  over  the  state  and  the  country.) 
By  so  editing,  the  papers  gave  the  impression  that  every 
American  was  active  in  promoting  the  anti-Japanese  move- 
ment, and  the  items  printed  were  events  taking  place  simul- 
taneously, when  they  covered  a  period  of  a  week  or  two.  .  .  . 

This  attitude  was  well  shown  in  a  conversation  with  one 
of  the  leading  men  in  Los  Angeles  during  a  trip  downtown  on 
the  street  car.  When  seated  in  the  car  I  took  out  the  morn- 
ing etlition  of  the  Japanese  paper  and  started  to  read  it  there. 
Thereupon  my  friend  cautioned  me  not  to  do  so,  as  it  would 
furnish  a  reason  for  anti-Japanese  agitation  by  showing  that 
the  Japanese  are  not  able  to  assimilate  American  culture.' 

The  quotations  from  the  Japanese  press  are  entitled: 
"Japanese  Heritages,"  "The  Restlessness  of  Immi- 
grants," and  "The  New  Race  Consciousness." 

JAPANESE    HERITAGES 

Although  not  all  the  Japanese  come  to  stay,  many 
of  them  settle  on  the  land,  and  their  press  reflects  this 
tendency. 

'Shiko  Kusama  (correspondence). 
11  155 


• 


THE  IMMIGRiVNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Our  Japanese  society  here  in  America  is  composed  of  three 
classes  of  immigrants. 

To  the  first  class  belongs  the  man  who  has  come  to  make 
money  and  has  no  intention  of  staying  here  longer  than 
necessary.  He  will  save,  invest  in  land,  and  build  his  house 
at  home,  become  a  money-lender  in  his  native  village.  He 
wants  four  or  five  thousand  dollars  more,  then — good-by, 
America. 

To  the  second  class  belongs  he  who  does  not  know  and 
don't  care  if  he  will  go  home  or  stay  here.  His  present  con- 
cern is  to  pursue  his  work  with  a  single  heart.  Time  will 
bring  him  the  opportunity  to  return  to  Japan,  or  a  happy 
and  profitable  occupation  to  keep  him  permanently  in 
America. 

To  the  third  class  belongs  he  who  is  determined  to  settle 
here  permanently.  His  home  is  whatever  place  is  comfortable 
to  live  in.  His  children  are  born  here,  his  business  grows, 
and  his  money  is  tied  up  with  it.  Once  he  made  a  visit  to  his 
homeland  and  discovered  that  it  is  not  so  attractive  as  it 
had  seemed  to  him.  His  old  friends  had  become  estranged, 
and  he  found  little  pleasure  in  talking  with  them.  But  he 
met  on  the  train  a  stranger  who,  like  him,  had  come  back 
from  America,  and  what  a  happy  time  he  had  chatting  so 
heartily  with  him!  Then  and  there  he  made  up  his  mind  to 
return  to  America  as  a  permanent  settler. 

The  man  of  the  first  class  is  a  mere  fortune  seeker  of  the 
lowest  tj'pe,  and  is  usually  found  to  be  one  who  had  first  come 
to  Hawaii  in  the  care  of  some  immigration  company,  crossing 
to  the  continent  afterward.  And  when  he  returns  to  Japan, 
his  monej'^  will  quickly  be  squandered,  and  he  will  return  to 
America  again  to  start  all  over  again,  perhaps  this  time  as  a 
permanent  resident. 

The  man  of  the  second  group  will  have  children,  enter  a 
business,  and  visit  Japan,  and  will  finally  transfer  himself  to 
the  third  class. 

And  this  third  class  is  the  only  class  worthy  to  inherit  the 
earth. — Great  Northern  Daily  News,  Seattle. 

SAN  GABRIEL— The  Committee  on  Agriculture  of  the 
Japanese  Association  is  trying  to  improve  the  agricultural 

15G 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

condition  of  the  Japanese  farmers  and  decided  to  have  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  ways  and  means  to  carry  out  the  program 
at  the  Association  Hall  on  the  eighteenth. — Japanese  Daily 
News,  Los  Angeles. 

Gambling,  Waitresses,  and  Sake 

It  is  reported  that  there  have  been  numerous  gamblings 
going  on  among  the  Japanese  in  the  hotels,  restaurants,  and 
pool  rooms.  A  member  of  the  Vigilance  Committee  on  Morals 
of  the  Japanese  Association  of  the  city  expressed  the  opinion 
that  if  the  practices  were  not  stopped  immediately  the  com- 
mittee would  take  a  drastic  measure  to  limit  the  practice  as 
far  as  possible. — Japanese-American  News,  San  Francisco. 

Yesterday  we  received  a  letter  with  the  postmark  of  Idaho 
Falls,  whose  content  is  to  this  effect:  There  is  a  certain 
Japanese  hotel  in  Idaho  Falls  where  bad  women  stay  to  ex- 
ploit our  brothers  and  where  a  certain  kind  of  liquor  is  brewed 
for  American  and  Mexican  customers.  The  fact  is  already 
known  to  the  town  authorities,  and  it  would  be  better  for  the 
hotel  management  to  do  one  thing  or  the  other. 

If  the  above  communication  is  true,  we  advise  our  friends 
in  that  city  to  look  into  the  matter  before  it  is  too  late,  and 
to  try  to  keep  unsullied  the  moral  reputation  of  their  com- 
munity.— Utah  Nippo,  Salt  Lake  City. 

A  year  has  passed  now.  What  is  the  substitute  that  has 
appeared.'*  Is  it  women?  No.  Is  it  gambling.''  No.  It  is 
book  and  pen.  Since  prohibition  the  practice  of  readmg 
books  has  become  amazingly  popular  among  our  working- 
men,  and  they  have  been  writing  far  more  frequently  to  their 
friends  in  America  and  to  their  parents  and  relatives  at  home 
in  Japan.  Of  course,  we  have  had  a  few  men  arrested  for 
violating  the  law,  but  their  number  is  negligible  when  we 
consider  the  entire  Japanese  population  in  our  state.  .  .  . 

It  is  said  that  our  hotels,  rooming  houses,  and  restaurants 
have  also  been  benefited.  \Miy.''  Because  our  men  no  longer 
spend  the  whole  night  on  the  street  as  before  prohibition;  nor 

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THE  IMIVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

are  they  squandering  their  money  for  liquor  which  they 
should  spend  for  food.  ...  It  must  be  noted,  also,  that  these 
places  are  iloing  more  cash  business  than  before,  and  are 
happy  that  they  do  not  have  to  extend  credit  to  so  many 
dubious  guests  as  formerly. — Utah  Nippo,  Salt  Lake  City. 

Matters  of  community  need  and  interest  are  often 
taken  care  of  by  Japanese  organizations. 

Japanese  Association  of  Los  Angeles  held  its  regular  meet- 
ing last  night  and  discussed  the  problem  of  taking  the  census 
of  the  Japanese  community. — Japanese  Daily  News,  Los 
Angeles. 

The  officers  of  the  Japanese  Chamber  of  Commerce  met 
last  night  to  discuss  the  question  of  the  restriction  of  Japa- 
nese rice  export  from  the  home  country.  They  decided  to 
send  the  protest  to  the  home  government  for  such  measure, 
and  ask  to  raise  the  ban  on  restriction. — Japanese-American 
News,  San  Francisco. 

The  Central  Japanese  Association  is  now  making  the  sur- 
vey of  the  economic  resources  of  the  Japanese  residing  in 
this  country. — Japanese  Daily  News,  Los  Angeles. 

Christians  and  Buddhists 

These  days  our  camp  in  the  country  receives  many  visits 
from  Christian  ministers  of  the  Southern  California  Evangeli- 
cal Association.  There  are  many  meetings  and  sermons,  but 
they  stir  the  people's  hearts  comparatively  little. 

I  have  heard  the  Christian  minister  speak.  He  criticizes 
Japan  in  this  way  and  that,  and  speaks  of  his  own  country  as 
if  it  were  miserably  inferior  to  the  Western  countries.  That 
at  once  makes  his  hearers  feel  very  unpleasant.  Next,  his 
illustrations  are  all  taken  from  the  Western  peoples,  as  though 
there  were  nothing  worth  talking  about  in  Japan.  This  also 
displeases  the  audience.  And,  worst  of  all,  there  comes 
sometimes  a  minister  who,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  is  a 
Japanese,  talks  like  a  foreigner,  proudly  misplacing  the  ac- 
cent.   In  this  way  he  expects  to  build  in  our  midst  a  spiritual 

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THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

kingdom.  How  foolish! — North  American  Herald,  Los  An- 
geles. 

We  doubt  the  wisdom  of  endeavoring  to  inculcate  in  our 
children  (Japanese  children  in  America)  the  narrow  national- 
ism that  grew  up  at  a  peculiar  stage  of  Japan's  development; 
or  the  Chinese  and  Buddhistic  thoughts  and  ideals  difficult 
for  the  modern  people  to  understand. — Colorado  Times, 
Denver. 

THE   RESTLESSNESS   OF   IMMIGRANTS 

The  isolation  of  the  immigrant  in  his  American  sur- 
roundings, and  bis  homesickness,  naturally  make  him 
restless.  In  the  Japanese  this  is  often  expressed  in 
mental  examination  of  his  situation,  its  drawbacks  and 
possible  improvement,  or  in  long,  homesick  reveries. 

The  Emigre 
After  supper  he  went  out  of  the  camp  and  walked  toward 
the  riverside.  A  flower  of  yellow  color  on  the  opposite  cliff 
seemed  as  if  it  were  floating.  He  sat  down  on  his  favorite 
stone  and  began  to  meditate  upon  things  in  general.  He 
repeats  the  same  task  day  after  day  with  a  feeling  of  distaste; 
he  has  no  friend  to  talk  with,  so  meditation  is  the  pleasantest 
thing  for  him  imder  the  circumstances.  He  surrenders  him- 
self to  the  cool  evening  sky  which  stole  over  the  creek  in  the 
valley.  He  feels  as  if  his  mind  had  been  oppressed  by  some- 
thing melancholy.  He  liked  the  feeling,  though,  and  his 
imagmation  turned  on  things  of  various  kinds.  He  pictures 
to  himself  his  successful  career,  his  return  to  Yokohama 
harbor.  In  that  picture  of  the  imagination  there  emerges  a 
gentleman  of  middle  size,  Mr.  O.;  A.  B.  with  another  gentle- 
man in  a  naval  uniform  with  a  broad  face;  Mr.  A.  with  a  square 
face;  Mrs.  U.  with  a  beautiful  daughter,  and  another  lady. 
The  lady  said  to  him:  "I  am  very  glad  to  see  your  success," 
concealing  the  tears  in  her  eyes.  But  no  enthusiasm,  no  fire. 
She  is  already  another  man's  wife.  His  imagination  dragged 
and  turned  from  one  thing  to  another.  Finally  he  lifted  up 
his  eyes,  which  were  filled  with  blood.  Melancholy  darkness 
surrounded  him  on  all  sides. — 

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TIIE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Contest:  "Uncler  the  Evening  Sky,"  by  a  certain  "Kigo- 
shi."  Japanese-American  News,  San  Francisco. 

In  a  Caf4 

Late  at  night  a  friend  from  the  country  took  me  to  a  down- 
town cai6  with  two  other  couples.  As  soon  as  we  sat  down 
one  of  our  companions  began  to  snooze  even  through  the 
noise  of  the  ragtime  that  rose  and  fell  in  the  barroom  next 
door.  Two  night  watchmen,  followed  by  a  soldier,  came  in 
and  stared  at  us.  , 

"\Miat  a  good-looking  fellow  he  isK'  exclaimed  one  of  my 
girl  chums.  She  was  so  fascinated  by  him  that  she  was  not 
sure  that  she  was  eating.  "I  love  the  American  style  of 
soldier,  best,"  she  confessed. 

I  tried  to  read  what  the  English  words  on  the  election 
placard  in  the  window  meant,  but  I  could  only  make  out 
each  letter  of  the  alphabet,  and  no  more.  I  was  disgusted 
at  not  knowing  English,  neither  to  speak  nor  to  write.  If  I 
could  only  talk  a  little!  To  study  is  impossible  in  my  present 
situation  and  I  cannot  even  go  shopping  by  myself.  I  have 
often  resolved  to  study  under  a  competent  teacher,  but  am 
often  disappointed  and  disgusted.  ShikatagaruA  (it  cannot 
be  helped)  was  the  last  ditch  and  I  go  wild  for  want  of  some- 
thing which  I  cannot  get. 

While  my  chum  fell  in  love  with  the  soldier  I  was  thinking 
and  hardly  knew  that  I  had  almost  finished  my  big  steak. 

How  delicious  cool  ice  water  is! 

As  we  came  out  in  the  dark,  summer  stars  were  twinkling 
brightly  and  quiet  night  filled  the  city.  It  looks  as  though 
we  may  have  hot  weather  to-morrow  again. — Stoclcton  Tinhes, 
"Woman's  Heart,"  Stockton. 


THE  NEW  RACE   CONSCIOUSNESS  i" 

The  isolation  of  the  Japanese  in  America  has  the  added 
effect  of  making  them  keenly  self-conscious,  as  a  race". 
This  leads  to  analysis  of  the  position  of  their  group  in 
the  country.    They  forecast  its  probable  development, 

160 


.A.; 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

note  the  changes  caused  by  environment,  and  point 
out  danger  signs. 


The  Japanese  Problem  from  the  Inside 

If  the  Japanese  problem  in  America  is  to  end,  it  will  end 
only  when  the  Japanese  immigrants  have  all  left  the  American 
shore,  or  when  their  place  in  this  land  has  become  too  emi- 
nently prosperous  to  admit  any  hostile  criticism.  Until  one 
of  these  two  things  happens,  we  will  continue  to  be  the  object 
of  discussion,  and  the  victims  of  contempt  and  oppression. 
Now,  in  order  to  end  this  unpleasant  Japanese  problem,  shall 
we  advance  aggressively  or  withdraw  abjectly.'*  Here  lies  our 
choice. 

The  choice  is  not  easy  to  make.  In  the  past  the  so-called 
enlightened  leaders  of  the  Japanese  communities  in  America 
have  assume<l  the  passive  attitude,  desiring,  to  put  the  matter 
frankly,  to  avoid  the  problem  rather  than  to  solve  it.  Even 
now  they  are  still  following  the  policy  of  weak  submission. 
They  advocate  the  eradication  of  Japanese  signs  from  our 
shops,  the  complete  Americanization,  the  abolition  of  Japa- 
nese schools,  etc.,  etc.,  in  all  of  which  we  fail  to  detect  a  speck 
of  the  aggressive  spirit. 

The  Japanese  do  not  like  people  of  another  race.  No  out- 
ward cordiality  can  hide  the  deep-rooted  repugnance  toward 
another  race.  They  hate  the  Eurasian.  .  .  .  Some  of  our 
prominent  public  men,  such  as  Ozaki,  Niitobe,  Nagai,  and 
Aoki,  have  married  foreign  women,  and  it  is  said  that  their 
families  and  children  are  not  very  happy  in  Japan.  This  is 
not  theory,  but  fact. 

Japan  will  not  tolerate  other  nations  interfering  with  its 
government,  either.  So  we  can  easily  understand  the  case  of 
America  if  it  dislikes  the  Japanese  and  refuses  to  give  them 
citizenship.  As  there  are  Japanese  who  prefer  to  marry  white 
women,  so  there  are  Americans  \\\\o  are  really  fond  of  Japa- 
nese. But  in  general  the  Japanese  are  not  loved  in  America 
by  Americans.  This  natural  dislike  finds  expression  in  the 
unjust  and  oppressive  anti-Japanese  movements.  To  com- 
plain of  the  injustice  of  the  Americans  in  granting  to  Euro- 

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THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

poan  people  the  right  to  naturalization  and  refusing  the  same 
right  to  the  Japanese  is  futile.  Americans  don't  like  us  and 
are  saying  so. 

This  racial  dislike  could  never  be  destroyed  unless  the  Japa- 
nese acquire  white  skin,  blue  eyes,  and  yellow  hair.  Since  we 
cannot  hope  for  this  miracle,  we  cannot  but  march  on  fear- 
lessly as  we  are.  We  need  not  court  troubles,  but  we  must 
exercise  our  full  rights  within  the  sphere  of  our  activity. 
There  is  no  need  of  submission,  reserve,  or  fear.  Indeed,  it 
is  these  things  that  bring  upon  us  contempt,  oppression,  and 
hostility. 

Let  us  approach  the  Americans  without  fear  and  build 
our  own  strength  and  position  in  their  midst  till  they  with- 
draw their  weapons  of  oppression  and  hostility. — Tacoma 
Japanese  Times,  Tacoma,  Washington. 

Supposing  that  our  children  grow  up  to  be  adepts  in  the 
handling  of  the  English  language,  expert  baseball  players, 
deft  dancers,  landowners,  and  voters,  it  is  still  doubtful  if 
they  would  be  able  to  live  on  the  same  level  as  the  white 
people. 

We  all  know  well  that  the  Negroes  are  full  American  citi- 
zens, but  the  white  citizens  ostracize  them,  despise  them,  per- 
secute them. 

There  are  some  enlightened  men  in  our  Japanese  group 
who  are  ashamed  of  teaching  the  Japanese  alphabet  to  their 
children,  and  jefrain  from  the  use  of  soy-bean  soup,  boiled 
rice,  and  the  bean  sauce,  this  last  named  being  offensive  to 
the  American  nostrils.  These  people  are  doing  everything 
they  can  to  please  Americans.  How  would  they  like  it  when 
they  find,  some  day,  a  permanent  yellow  stratum  in  the 
American  society  as  there  is  a  black  one  already .? 

Here  is  a  question.  We  cannot  afford  to  pass  it  up  as  a 
mere  question  for  scholars  to  discuss,  because  we  are  begin- 
ning to  have  our  own  children. — North  American  Herald,  Los 
Angeles,  California. 

Domestic  Relations 

The  day  before  yesterday  the  Central  Japanese  Association 
was  requested  to  look  after  the  three  new  brides  just  arrived 

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THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

at  San  Francisco.  The  prospective  bridegrooms  are  one 
Sugiyama  of  Florin,  who  was  ill  and  unable  to  come  to  the 
immigration  oflSce  to  take  his  bride;  and  the  other  two  are 
Tajiri  and  Kubo  of  Colorado,  who  are  too  far  away  to  come 
to  the  port.  These  men  sent  their  certificates,  issued  by  the 
Colorado  Japanese  Association,  to  the  Central  Japanese  As- 
sociation, with  recommendation  as  to  their  good  standing 
financially  and  otherwise  in  the  Japanese  community. — The 
New  World  (Japanese),  San  Francisco,  California. 

In  the  Japanese  communities  in  the  intermountain  region, 
the  woman,  who  is  the  mistress  of  the  home,  is  inexperienced 
and  ignorant  of  American  ways  and  manners.  Having  come 
over  here  only  a  year  or  two  ago,  or  three  or  four  at  most, 
she  is  far  less  acquainted  with  American  life  than  her  hus- 
band who,  wandering  about,  has  lived  in  America  for  many 
years. 

If  she  goes  straight  to  her  husband's  field  when  she  arrives 
and  remams  there  without  hearing  a  word  of  English,  and 
without  seeing  anything  of  American  culture,  how  is  she  to 
bring  up  her  children?  .  .  . 

Our  immediate  need  is  to  educate  our  women. — Colorado 
Times  (Japanese),  Denver,  Colorado. 

The  birth  rate  in  the  Japanese  communities  in  America  has 
been  steadily  growing  during  the  past  ten  years,  so  that  now 
the  number  of  births  is  estimated  to  be  near  seven  thousand 
a  year.  • 

What  invites  our  attention  is  the  great  discrepancy  in  age 
between  the  father  and  the  babe.  In  many  cases  the  father 
is  a  half-old  man  of  fifty,  while  his  children  are  only  four  or 
five  years  old.  When  the  latter  reach  the  age  of  twenty  the 
former  will  be  approaching  the  grave,  if  not  actually  in  it. 
Time  will  come  when  our  commimity  will  be  made  up  of 
weak,  half-dead  old  men  and  immature  and  reckless  youths. 
Who  will  guide  the  young  men  and  women  of  our  community 
twenty  years  hence?     There  is  no  answer. 

It  is  true  that  the  "Gentlemen's  Agreement"  permits  the 
parents  in  this  country  to  send  for  their  sons  and  daughters 
in  Japan  that  are  under  age,  and  we  see  a  small  influx  of  boys 

163 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

and  girls  in  their  teens  into  our  community.  These  are  some- 
times sent  to  the  American  public  schools  to  learn  English, 
but  the  preponderant  tendency  is  to  earn  rather  than  to 
learn.  When  three  and  a  half  dollars  is  offered  to  a  mere 
green  boy  who  has  just  landed,  it  is  very  natural  that  he 
should,  and  does,  prefer  the  work  to  the  study.  But  does  he 
spend  the  money  wisely?  We  hesitate  to  reply  in  the  affirma- 
tive. 

Moreover,  these  young  people  quickly  lose  the  Japanese 
virtue  of  filial  piety  and  obedience  to  parents,  and  adopting 
American  individualism,  they  run  away  from  their  parents  to 
wander  about  everywhere. 

Yet  our  commimity  of  twenty  years  hence  will  have  to 
depend  on  these  few  young  newcomers  of  to-day.  These  are 
a  most  precious  handful,  which  we  cannot  afford  to  neglect. 
They  form  the  link  between  the  decaying  age  and  the  imma- 
ture youth,  and  twenty  years  hence  they  will  have  to  serve 
as  the  bridge  over  an  inevitable  and  dangerous  gulf  in  our 
community. 

This  is  why  we  urge  so  strongly  an  organized  and  sys- 
tematic education  and  training  of  the  young  boys  and  girls 
who  have  come  to  America  in  recent  years. — Hoku-shin-Juho, 
San  Francisco. 

Last  Friday  evening  a  dance  was  given  by  the  Japanese 
Girls'  Club,  at  Corinth  Hall.  The  club  was  organized  by 
the  Japanese  girl  students  of  tlie  city,  assisted  by  the  patron- 
esses of  the  community.  The  present  club  is  the  first  attempt 
to  organize  a  social  club  among  the  girls  of  the  Japanese 
community  after  the  American  fashion.  This  social  affair  was 
attended  by  a  large  number  of  the  leading  men  and  women  of 
the  community,  who  received  the  guests  of  the  evening.  The 
decoration  of  the  hall  and  the  arrangement  of  the  program 
suggested  the  atmosphere  of  American  social  life,  with  a  total 
lack  of  the  ways  of  the  Far  East. 

While  I  watched  the  progress  of  the  evening  I  could  not 
help  but  feel  the  good  that  this  sort  of  undertaking  brings  to 
the  life  of  the  young  people  in  the  community  by  giving  them 
the  feeling  that  they,  too,  can  have,  as  their  American  sisters 
have,  a  social  life;  and  I  quietly  hoped  that  a  great  deal  of 

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THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

good  may  come  out  of  this  club  activity  without  the  corre- 
sponding weakness  of  over-socialization. — Great  Northern 
Daily  News,  Seattle.    (Miscellaneous  notebook  by  Tarosaku.) 

There  was  organized  the  first  Japanese  baseball  team  in  the 
Imaji  Girls'  High  School. — Japanese- American  Commercial 
Weekly^  New  York  City. 

The  War 

The  pictures  are  those  of  Hawaiian-bom  Japanese  boj'S 
who  have  gone  to  the  front.  These  boys,  whom  some  of  us 
have  known  in  our  city,  will  be  fighting  somewhere  in  France 
imder  the  Star  Spangled  Banner.  Through  them  we  will 
feel  what  war  really  means.  We  will  think  of  them  with  deep 
love  and  anxiety,  and  our  hearts  will  beat  in  unison  with  those 
of  our  white  neighbors  whose  dear  ones  are  also  over  there. — 
Japanese  Daily  News,  Los  Angeles,  California. 

On  the  train  from  New  York  to  Trenton  we  embryo-soldiers 
were  carried  to  the  same  destination,  but  our  thoughts  were 
widely  different.  To  me  it  was  a  confusion  of  impressions. 
I  thought  of  the  home  which  I  left  years  ago,  of  friends,  and 
of  myself.  ^Yhen  I  was  still  a  little  boy  I  went  with  my  broth- 
ers to  see  our  soldiers  off  for  the  front  in  the  Russo-Japanese 
War.  Then  I  could  not  feel  the  pulse  of  the  men  who  went  to 
the  front,  but  I  felt  it  in  mv  heart  as  I  was  sent  off  to  camp 
life. 

When  we  arrived  at  Trenton  we  were  ordered  to  march  to 
the  camp,  which  was  several  miles  distant.  Many  of  us  felt 
the  pressure  of  army  life  with  our  tired  feet,  for  although  it 
"was  once  my  pleasure  to  walk  across  country,  since  my  coming 
to  America  I  had  become  accustomed  to  convenient  trans- 
portation. 

That  evening  I  enjoyed  my  first  army  mess,  which  was  very 
inviting  to  the  hungry  group. 

Li  this  camp  there  are  seven  or  eight  Japanese  already, 
and  among  them  one  captain,  who  is  well  spoken  of.  The  day 
after  my  arrival  I  was  assigned  as  kitchen  orderly  and  for 
drill  on  alternate  days.    I  did  not  like  the  kitchen  work,  but 

1G5 


THE  IIVIIVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

it  is  necessary  war  work,  and  I  followed  directions.  Next 
day  our  lieutenant  came  over  and  asked  the  soldiers  to  take 
out  insurance.  It  is  the  tenet  of  Bushido  not  to  bother  about 
money  matters,  as  the  soldier's  fate  and  fame  is  death  on  the 
fighting  lines,  but  my  duty  is  to  support  my  parents  at  home, 
so,  that  they  might  realize  something  after  my  death,  I  wrote 
ten  thousand  dollars'  insurance.  The  lieutenant  seemed  sur- 
prised to  see  it,  and  he  may  have  thought  that  I  was  a  miser 
even  after  death. — Japanese  Times,  New  York  City.  (From 
Camp  Dix,  by  Nigashi.) 

WATSONVILLE  BRANCH— The  Japanese  in  this  val- 
ley organized  last  night  a  War  Aid  Fund  Association,  with 
a  membership  fee  of  one  dollar  minimum.  The  sum  collected 
will  be  distributed  as  follows: 

$15,000  to  the  Red  Cross;  $15,000  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  war 
fund;  $2,500  to  the  Knights  of  Columbus;  $3,000  to  the 
Belgian  Relief  Fund;  and  $2,000  to  the  Armenian  Relief 
Fund. — Japanese-American  News,  San  Francisco. 

THE   YIDDISH   PRESS 

New  York  is  the  great  Jewish  center,  and  the  most 
densely  populated  Jewish  section  in  New  York  is  the 
East  Side,  the  section  which  lies  east  of  the  Bowery 
and  south  of  Houston  Street.  The  life  of  this  section 
is  vividly  reflected  in  the  press. 

The  quotations  from  the  Yiddish  papers  have  been 
entitled  "The  Old  Religion  and  the  New  Nationalism," 
"Conflicts;  the  Jew  in  War  and  Peace,"  and  "Life  on 
the  Lower  East  Side." 


THE   OLD   RELIGION  AND   THE   NEW   NATIONALISM 

The  Jews  have  always  been  assimilationists.  They 
have  discarded  the  language  and  religious  customs  of 
their  parents  with  greater  readiness  than  other  immi- 
grant groups.     But  in  one  way  or  another  many  of 

163 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

them  are  returning  to  an  appreciation  of  their  racial 
heritage  and  to  a  new  race  consciousness. 

How  shall  we  educate  our  children?  Prize  Contest!  .  .  . 
Says  the  religious  Jew:  "WTien  I  was  a  child  I,  too,  had 
perhaps  no  desire  for  study,  but  nevertheless  grew  up  a 
pious  Jew.  ^Miy,  then,  can't  I  make  my  children  follow  my 
path?" 

.  .  .  The  radical  thinks:  "My  parents  were  religious,  and  I 
grew  up  a  freethinker.  But  this  did  not  prevent  me  from 
understanding  and  honoring  them.  But  why  does  my  child 
not  understand  me,  and  why  can  I  not  make  him  respect  my 
ideals?" 

.  .  .  Says  the  plain  Jew:  "In  my  old  home  I  was  ready  to 
do  anything  in  order  to  remain  a  Jew.  Over  there  the  chil- 
dren feel  that  they  are  Jews  and  know  how  to  appreciate  their 
Judaism.  Over  here  there  are  no  obstructions  to  be  a  Jew — 
why,  then,  do  my  children  grow  up  like  Gentiles  and  refuse 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  Judaism?" 

.  .  .  Says  the  American  Jew  (who  does  not  worry  about 
piousness,  radicalism,  or  nationalism):  "Seemingly  my  chil- 
dren attend  the  same  schools  as  the  Americans,  speak  English, 
and  play  with  American  children,  and  yet  they  are  not  Ameri- 
cans— something  is  lacking.  .  .  ,  One  of  my  children  asks  me, 
'Why  do  they  call  me  "Sheeny"  ?'  And  a  second  wants  to 
know  why  I  don't  take  him  to  'church'?  How  can  I  make 
my  children  grow  up  into  men  with  sound  souls,  so  that  they 
will  not  be  tortured  by  questions  that  tortured  me?"  .  .  . 

Various  remedies  are  adopted :  Religious  Jews  open  Hebrew 
schools,  offering  education  in  the  old-fashioned  way;  radical 
Jews  create  national-radical  schools  or  "free  schools,"  where 
children  are  taught  Hebrew  and  Yiddish,  or  Yiddish  only,  in 
a  modern  way;  assimilated  Socialists  are  sending  their  chil- 
dren to  Socialist  Sunday  schools;  and  other  Jews  just  let  it 
go  as  it  comes.  So  that  confusion  in  the  matter  of  education 
reigns  ...  a  danger  to  Jewish  culture  here. — Day,  New  York 
City,  August  14,  1915. 

A  reader  who  is  employed  by  another  Jew  is  threatened 
with  the  loss  of  his  position  if  he  fails  to  report  on  the  great 

167 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

holiday  of  "Yom  Kippur."  He  asks  for  advice.  The  editor 
replies  that  for  his  faith  the  Jew  has  lost  his  life.  In  Amer- 
ica, he  says,  there  were  cases  where  husbands  had  left 
their  wives  and  children  hungry  and  refused  to  work  on  the 
Sabbath.  He  concludes  by  saying  that  true  religious  peo- 
ple do  not  ask  whether  tliey  ought  to  violate  a  holiday  by 
working  on  that  day.  .  .  .  The  process  of  assimilation  in  this 
coimtry  among  Jews  who  believe  that  "Judaism  is  a  mere 
religious  sect,"  goes  on  a  larger  scale.  But  we  only  hear  of 
the  prominent  persons  deserting  us — like  R.  Guggenheim. 
But  in  reality,  assimilation  is  assuming  huge  proportions, 
and  has  always  been  the  direct  result  of  the  extreme  Reform 
Judaism. 

If  this  country  would  educate  Jewish  children  in  a  Jew- 
ish national  spirit,  they  would  be  the  best,  noblest,  and 
most  self-sacrificing  of  Jews. —  D.  M.  Hermaun,  in  the  Day^ 
New  York  City,  August  23,  1915. 

The  Roots  of  Zionism 

"From  man  to  man."  ...  I  do  not  like  a  Gentile  who  does 
not  dislike  a  Jew,  just  as  I  have  no  love  for  the  Jew  who  does 
not  dislike  a  Gentile.  An  honest  Gentile  .  .  .  must  be  more 
or  less  of  an  anti-Semite,  just  as  an  upright  Jew  must  be  more 
or  less  of  an  anti-Gentile.  I  dislike  a  man  who  likes  every- 
body and  everything.  I  suspect  such  a  p>erson  of  having  base 
motives  of  lying — even  to  himself.  ...  I  am  an  honest  Jew 
and  do  not  like  Gentiledom.  I  may  like  one  or  two  Gentiles, 
even  a  hundred;  but  Gentiledom  as  a  whole  remains  strange 
to  me.  .  .  .  And  I  reflect  that  if  the  Gentile  be  honest  and 
faithful  he  must  despise  the  Jew. . . .  And  when  I  walk  through 
the  woods  with  a  Gentile  who  is  a  friend  of  the  Jew's  ...  I 
constantly  keep  my  hand  on  the  butt  of  my  revolver. — Day, 
New  York  City,  March  10,  1917. 

.  .  .  The  emancipated  Jew  (in  Russia)  .  .  .  will  acquire  this 
or  that  industry,  will  perhaps  monopolize  partly  or  entirely 
the  stage,  press,  etc.  .  .  .  He  will  do  these  things  because  he 
is  more  active,  capable,  somewhat  more  intelligent  than  his 

168 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

non-Jewish  neighbor.  ...  In  the  beginning  his  activities  will 
be  tolerated,  but  the  Russian  people,  now  free,  will  rapidly 
grow  and  progress  and  find  the  Jew  in  his  way.  .  .  .  But,  until 
then,  you  Socialists,  Zionists,  and  assimilators  say  every- 
thing will  be  arranged  to  suit  everybody?  .  .  .  Perhaps!  .  .  . 
But  Russianization  or  Americanization  is  merely  an  outward 
change.  ...  /I  Jew  remains  a  Jew,  and  assimilation  does  not 
help  during  times  of  stress.  .  .  . — Jewish  Daily  Forward,  New 
York  City,  April  23,  1917. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  many  American  concerns  refuse 
to  employ  Jews.  The  following  incident  will  corroborate  it. 
The  Ji)tna  Insurance  Company,  100  William  Street,  New 
York  City,  was  obliged  to  hire  temporarily  about  one  hun- 
dred "payroll auditors."  Among  the  applicants  were  several 
Jews.  It  was  amazing  to  witness  the  disgraceful  treatment 
accorded  one  of  these.  The  gentleman  in  the  office  did  not 
as  much  as  ask  him  about  his  ability  or  desire,  but  ridiculed 
and  poked  fun  at  him  like  a  vaudeville  actor.  .  .  .  Needless  to 
add,  not  one  of  the  Jewish  applicants  was  accepted.  ...  I 
might  add  that  Jewish  business  men  .  .  .  have  enriched  this 
firm. — Day,  New  York  City,  August  27,  1915. 

What  strikes  me  best  in  the  entire  peace  negotiations  '  is 
Jaffa,  the  Jewish  leader  of  the  Russian  peace  delegation. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  v.e  do  not  know  his  first  name.  It 
must  probably  be  Jacob  or  Israel.  It  is  becommg  that 
his  name  should  be  Israel  Jaffa. 

And  in  the  hands  of  Israel  JafTa  was  intrusted  the  mission 
of  bringing  the  world  peace.  The  Gentiles  made  a  world  war, 
and  here  comes  Israel  Jaffa  and  wants  to  make  a  world  peace. 

There  are  170,000,000  Gentiles  in  Russia,  and  Israel  Jaffa 
wants  to  make  peace  for  them. — Jewish  Daily  Forward, 
New  York  City,  January  3,  1918. 

CONFLICTS 

The  Jews  dislike  war.  They  are  sensitive  and  intro- 
spective.   They  see  very  clearly  its  horror  and  also  its 

^  Negotiations  between  Russia  and  the  Central  Powers. 
169 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

inconsistencies.  The  contentions  they  really  enjoy  are 
those  of  peace.  On  every  question  there  are  many  fac- 
tions, and  their  public  disputes  are  long  and  bitter. 

The  Jew  in  War 

Pershing  reports: 

So  many  and  so  many  dead ;  so  many  wounded ;  so  many 
taken  prisoners;   so  many  lost. 

So  reports  Pershing. 

Short  and  sharp  reports.  Short  as  a  military  order  and 
sharp  as  a  knife.  Cut  off  sentences.  Short  names  with  an 
addition,  private  or  military  title. 

So  Pershing  reports. 

And  you  run  through  the  names  of  the  dead,  wounded, 
prisoners,  and  lost;  and  you  endeavor  to  visualize  how  this 
list  of  names  is  received  by  the  mothers,  fathers,  brides, 
sisters,  brothers,  and  sweethearts. 

Mothers  may  die  from  fear,  and  they  shudder  to  look  over 
the  list  of  names.    They  fear  to  run  across  the  endeared  name. 

Fathers  take  the  papers  with  a  camouflaged  indifference, 
spend  quite  a  while  over  that  corner  of  the  paper  with  the 
names,  and  then  they  hasten  to  glance  over  the  paper. 

Sisters  are  somewhat  more  quiet,  yet  sufl5ciently  moved. 
Brothers  await,  perhaps,  with  pride,  that  a  hero  might  be 
one  of  their  family — let  it  be  a  dead  hero — so  long  as  a  hero 
.  .  .  the  young,  manly  blood! 

The  most  cold-blooded,  perhaps,  are  the  brides,  the  sweet- 
hearts, and  the  girls  in  general. 

If  they  are  young  and  beautiful,  they  are  light-hearted, 
and  take  it  little  to  heart;  if  not  this  boy — it  is  another. 
And  the  war  is  so  beautiful — on  account  of  the  soldiers'  uni- 
forms. And  in  the  uniform  they  now  see  before  them  "new 
boys!"    That  is  the  case  with  young  and  beautiful  girls. 

And  the  older  and  homelier  girls  weep  over  the  paper  with 
the  introduction  "Pershing  reports,"  perhaps  not  so  much 
for  the  fallen  hero  as  their  misfortune.  The  name  of  a  sweet- 
heart in  the  paper  means  for  them  new  search,  new  worry, 
new  exertion  to  get  a  feUow! 

170 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

Pershing  reports — about  our  fallen  "boys." 

And  the  mother  notices  the  name  of  her  "boy,"  and  the 
light  of  the  world  becomes  extinguished  for  her. 

And  the  father  feels  as  though  something  dull  and  heavy 
cut  into  his  heart  and  caused  it  to  cease. 

And  the  sister  gets  an  animal-like  worry  of  death. 

And  the  brother  feels  pride  and  pain  intermingled,  and  his 
fists  become  clenched,  and  he  wreaks  vengeance. 

And  the  warm-loving  "girl,"  it  may  be,  feels  an  entirely 
different  fear.  She  reminds  herself,  perhaps,  of  the  once 
given  kisses,  and  the  embracing  of  her  fallen  sweetheart; 
and  to  her  it  now  seems  that  she  feels  upon  herself  cold,  dead 
lips;  and  she  imagines  that  dead  hands  embrace  the  warm 
body,  and  that  death  alone  with  its  cracking  bones  draws 
itself  to  her  and  says,  "You  are  mine." 

Pershing  reports: 

And  I  read  the  names  on  Pershing's  paper,  and  try  to  con- 
ceive what  kind  of  "boys"  they  had  been;  how  they  had 
lived,  what  they  had  hoped;  what  kind  of  hidden  power  there 
lived  within  them;  what  kind  of  geniuses  we  have  lost  in 
them. 

Pershing  reports: 

Short,  sharp  report.  Brief  as  a  severe  command,  sharp  as 
a  knife —Day,  New  York  City,  March  20,  1918. 

Humor,  by  Z.  Libin 

War!  The  United  States  Attorney -General  of  free  America 
has  decreed:  "Keep  your  mouth  shut."  And  America  shut 
up.  Everybody  shut  up.  ...  In  the  grocery  store,  where  so 
much  cursing  was  prevalent  over  the  high  prices,  there  is 
absolute  quiet.  They  pay  what  is  asked,  swallow  the  pain, 
and  keep  silent.  .  .  .  My  gay  neighbors  are  silent,  so  is  our 
janitor;  if  she  must  curse,  she  whips  her  poor  children  in- 
stead .  .  .  but  she  does  not  speak — is  afraid.  .  .  .  My  poor  wife 
— not  a  word  does  she  utter!  .  .  .  Stands  by  the  washtub  and 
sighs  and  moans.  .  .  .  Heretofore  she  would  wash  and  talk, 
talk  and  wash.  .  .  .  "The  walls  have  ears,"  says  she.  .  .  .  And 
my  poor  little  children  are  quiet.  .  .  .  During  her  leisure  my 
12  171 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

daughter,  Dora,  a  Socialist,  used  to  speak  against  the  war. 
.  .  .  Now  she  is  silent.  .  .  .  My  blond  little  ten-year-old  Julick 
used  to  bring  home  all  the  street  news,  and  his  voice  was  so 
childishly  joyful.  .  .  .  Now  he  is  quiet.  This  is  partly  due  to 
the  fact  that  no  one  in  the  street  speaks.  Then,  he  is  afraid 
to  tell  anything — he  knows  the  "keep-quiet"  law.  Even  my 
woman  neighbor's  babj',  which  used  to  cry  all  night,  is  now 
quiet.  .  .  .  No  doctor  was  able  to  quieten  it,  but  Washington 
did  it.  .  .  .  The  rheumatic  man  from  the  top  floor  who  cannot 
suppress  his  pains  .  .  .  shouts  (he  must  shout  for  pain),  "Hur- 
rah for  the  War."  .  .  .  The  landlord  raised  our  rent  knowing 
we  would  not  dare  protest.  The  grocer  overcharges,  so  does 
the  butcher,  milkman,  baker  .  .  .  for  it  is  seditious  to  say 
anything.  .  .  . — Jewish  Daily  Forward,  New  York  City,  April 
14,^  1917. 

The  Jew  in  Peace 

Ninety-nine  per  cent  of  all  the  Jews  in  America  believe 
that  everj'thing  in  America  is  bluff.  .  .  .  Particularly  do  they 
think  so  of  their  leaders  and  movements. 

We  have  developed  a  sort  of  world-aspect;  any  aspiration, 
activity,  movement  .  .  .  must  have  ...  a  suspicious  motive. 
The  greater  part  of  our  people  are  positive  that  if  anyone  is 
successful  it  is  because  lie  is  a  swindler  and  demagogue.  .  .  . 
They  know  in  advance  that  every  success  must  have  a  dis- 
honest origin.  They  do  not  believe  in  anybody's  honesty 
and  purity.  .  .  .  But  few  men  and  institutions  have  escaped 
the  general  shower  of  derision. . . . — Day,  New  York  City,  Sep- 
tember 13, 1915. 

Worthy  Comrade  Editor:  Permit  me,  through  the  Naye 
Welt,  to  express  my  opinion  in  regard  to  the  labor  congress: 

I  think  that  never  was  a  labor  congress  so  urgent  as  now, 
not  because  the  administration  of  the  Zionist  congress  offended 
the  labor  committee — this  would  be  rather  trifling,  but  now 
we  can  see  and  feel  what  others  have  long  realized :  that  even 
in  such  matters  as  Jewish  rights — national  and  cultural  rights 
in  the  countries  where  we  have  them  not — the  workmen,  the 

172 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

real  champions  of  freedom  and  justice,  cannot  go  hand  in 
hand  with  the  bourgeoise  Zionists  of  all  shades.  Unfortu- 
nately, there  still  were  sentimental  people  in  our  ranks  who 
believed  that  where  the  issue  was  concerned  with  such  great 
things  as  demanding  rights  for  Jews,  the  bourgeoise  Zoinists 
will  not  play  Zionist  politics  and  make  the  congress  really 
general ;  but  these  sentimental  people  have  realized  now  that 
which  others  have  long  realized. 

The  Jewish  labor  congress  will  be  quite  different.  Entire 
Jewish  labor  will  speak  in  other  words,  and  the  words  will 
sound  different;  the  labor  congress  will  not  request,  but  de- 
mand, and  it  will  come  out  courageously  against  the  injustices 
committed  against  the  Jews,  also  raise  a  mighty  protest 
against  the  new  rulers,  the  Poles,  for  the  pogroms  they  made 
in  a  number  of  cities;  and  this  will  be  a  protest  of  an  organ- 
ized force  which  cannot  be  ignored.  We  may  say  that  our 
demands  will  be  supported  by  the  Socialist  organizations  on 
the  other  side,  and  we  may  be  sure  that  the  labor  parties  in 
Europe  will  not  speak  Gompers'  language.  But  I  should  like 
that  the  National  Workmen's  Committee  which  organizes 
the  labor  congress  to  get  in  touch  with  the  Bund  in  Russia, 
and  also  in  Galicia.  If  possible,  let  a  Jewish  labor  congress  be 
called  from  America  and  Europe;  but  perhaps  this  is  impos- 
sible for  technical  reasons. 

But  in  the  Jewish  labor  congress  there  must  be  no  room  for 
the  Paole  Zion,  or  the  National  Socialists,  as  they  call  them- 
selves. We  must  not  receive  them  if  they  come  to  us,  because 
they  are  leaders  without  masses.  Now  they  will  be  with  one 
element  and  to-morrow  with  the  opposite  element.  With 
these  p)eople  the  participation  in  such  movements  is  only  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  some  influence  with  the  Jewish  work- 
men who,  imtil  now,  disregarded  them,  and  secondly,  a  means 
to  raise  more  funds.  Until  now  they  had  a  collection  every 
week;  one  Sunday  for  Palestine,  next  for  the  national  fund; 
every  week  a  different  thing;  but  all  for  the  same  bag  of 
Zionism.  Now,  if  they  should  be  represented  in  the  Jewish 
labor  congress,  they  will  enlarge  the  bag  and  make  it  a  large 
sack,  and  take  up  collections  twice  a  week  or  perhaps  every 
day  in  the  year.    They  call  themselves  Zionist  Socialists,  or 

173 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

National  Socialists,  but  in  reality  they  are  far  from  Socialism, 
for  at  every  opportunity  they  seek  to  defeat  Socialism.  The 
best  example  will  be  the  New  York  Election  Day  in  the 
Twelfth  Congressional  District,  where  they  joined  hands  with 
Tammany  against  the  Socialist  congressman,  Meyer  London. 
The  Jewish  organized  labor,  which  has  always  supported 
Socialist  campaigns,  when  it  will  organize  as  a  labor  congress, 
must  not  go  hand  in  hand  with  opponents  of  labor,  for  the 
above-mentioned  people,  who  consider  themselves  Socialists, 
are  not  sincere  in  their  desire  for  rights  for  Jews  on  the  other 
side.  With  them  it  is  a  camouflage  to  cloak  their  nakedness. 
In  reality  they  are  Zionists  who  are  only  after  Palestine  in 
order  to  have  their  own  ambassadors  and  ofEcials  like  in  the 
old  Russia.  For  instance,  I  know  one  of  them,  a  short,  stout 
Jew,  who  tries  to  become  warden  of  a  prison,  and  woe  to 
those  Socialists  who  will  fall  into  his  hands. — Naye  Welt, 
New  York  City,  December  20,  1918. 

.  .  .  The  East  Side  lacks  a  public  opinion,  a  cultured  class, 
to  show  the  way;  it  lacks  a  united  organized  body  ...  to  lead 
us.  That  is  why  we  are  led  by  the  Yahudim,  who  do  not 
know  us,  who  do  not  imderstand  us.  That  is  also  why  a 
president  of  one  of  our  federations  has  proven  to  be  an  un- 
educated man,  who  disgraced  us  when  speaking  publicly  in 
the  English  language;  that  is  why  demagoguery  and  irre- 
sponsibility are  prevalent  in  our  parties;  why  our  theatrical 
managers  do  not  feel  the  slightest  respect  for  the  Jewish 
writer  and  critic.  .  .  .  We  have  bad  taste  in  public  life. — Day, 
New  York  City,  October  14,  1917. 


LIFE   ON   THE   LOWER   EAST   SIDE 

Life  on  the  lower  East  Side  is  full  of  color  and  action, 
all  of  which  is  reflected  in  the  Yiddish  press.  The  Jew 
is  keen  enough  to  see  his  o^ti  inconsistencies  and  the 
peculiarities  of  his  character.  Their  journalists  pre- 
sent a  critical,  yet  kindly,  mirror  to  their  readers. 

174 


THE  COSMOPOLIT.VN  PRESS 

The  prejudice  of  some  against  the  East  Siders  lies  in  the 
fact  that  they  are  ignorant  of  their  Hfe  and  aspirations.  .  .  . 
It  is  .  .  .  the  most  cultured  district  in  the  whole  city,  the  liveliest 
and  most  sensitive  center  of  the  greatest  American  city.  Every 
new  reporter,  every  new  artist  with  a  new  tendency,  must 
come  to  the  East  Side  for  recognition,  and  usually  gets  it. 
Commissioner  Howe  makes  his  more  radical  addresses  on  the 
East  Side;  Chairman  Walsh  of  the  Industrial  Relations  Com- 
mission first  published  his  program  on  the  East  Side,  and  then 
it  became  known  all  over  the  country;  the  famous  classic 
dancer,  Isadora  Duncan,  was  glad  to  get  away  from  weari- 
some Broadway,  and  came  to  look  for  inspiration  on  the  poor 
East  Side;  these  are  only  instances  of  the  past  few  months. 
.  .  .  The  East  Side  is  the  center  of  lectures,  debates,  musical 
and  literary  events,  etc.  From  the  East  Side  libraries  the 
greatest  number  of  serious  books  are  being  circulated,  and  its 
theaters  now  play  Ibsen  an<I  Ilauptmann  .  .  .  while  Broadway 
produces  acts  of  trained  dogs  and  horses  to  amuse  its  pub- 
lic. .  .  .—Day,  New  York,  July  8,  1915. 

Business 

Ten  rules  for  business: 

Business  has  become  a  science,  and  as  the  East  Side  is 
generally  very  scientific,  it  is  only  natural  that  business 
science  should  reach  its  maximum  there.  The  ten  rules  are: 
(1)  ^Yhen  a  Jew  is  in  business,  a  second  Jew  must  crowd  him 
out  and  a  third  must  choke  them  both,  like  a  bone  in  the 
throat,  while  a  fourth  must  elbow  the  three  others,  etc. 
{•i)  Competition  is  the  main  thing  in  business,  and  can  be 
carried  on  in  several  ways;  by  engaging  "pullers"  who  must 
pull  a  prospective  customer  into  so  many  pieces  as  there  are 
stores  in  the  block.  In  the  case  of  butchers,  each  may  throw 
a  cartload  of  dead  dogs  into  the  other's  store,  or  point  out 
how  many  hogs  they  are  selling  with  the  kosher  label  on 
them.  A  grocer  may  compete  with  his  opponent  by  sending 
out  rumors  of  the  latter's  abduction  of  a  negro  woman;  and 

175 


THE  i:mmigrant  press  and  its  control 

as  regards  a  candy  store,  competition  demands  that  for  each 
cent  of  candy  sold  a  toy  worth  a  dollar  should  be  given  to 
the  customer,  or  a  ticket  to  the  movies,  or  a  baby  carriage. 
(3)  The  main  thing  in  business  is  the  art  of  conduct  with  a 
customer.  He  must  first  of  all  be  dragged  in  forcefully. 
WTien  he  is  inside  he  must  be  made  to  purchase  things  he 
does  not  need.  If  he  refuses  to  buy,  he  should  be  insulted, 
and  escorted  for  a  block  with  your  curses.  (4)  You  must 
know  just  what  and  how  to  sell.  A  pair  of  shoes  must  be 
sold  to  a  customer  three  sizes  larger  or  smaller  than  he  wears; 
a  suit  of  clothes  must  hang  like  a  bag  or  squeeze  the  breath 
out  of  the  wearer.  ...  (5)  Money  plays  no  part  in  business. 
Customers  are  the  things,  and  these  may  best  be  secured  by 
selling  them  goods,  charge  them  up  to  them,  and  never 
collect  .  .  .  for  fear  they  may  give  their  patronage  to  your 
competitor.  The  result.'*  Simple — you'll  have  the  greatest 
number  of  customers,  the  least  amount  of  goods,  plenty  of 
debts,  and  then — you'll  have  to  close  up  and  go  to  work 
(6)  You  must  overlook  a  customer's  hiding  in  her  apron  a 
herring,  dress,  etc.,  for  women  dislike  to  hear  evil  spoken 
about  customers.  (7)  Customers  must  be  made  to  feel  at 
home;  the  store  must  be  kept  unclean,  crumbs  of  your  meals 
must  be  left  on  the  counter,  a  baby  must  be  walking  under 
their  feet,  and  the  owner's  wife  must  fill  the  place  with  the 
golden  tones  of  her  oaths  upon  her  husband  and  children. 
(8)  You  must  be  quite  familiar  with  customers  so  that  you 
therefore  greet  them  in  your  undershirt,  dirtj'  hands,  and 
eating  bread  and  herring.  Pat  them  on  the  back  and  teU 
them  some  vulgar  jokes  and  treat  the  women  to  some  sug- 
gestive remarks.  ...  (9)  Bargaining  is  very  essential  in  busi- 
ness. .  .  .  You  must  ask  a  tenfold  price  and  swear  on  your 
wife  and  children  that  it's  the  bottom  price.  If  the  customer 
refuses  to  buy,  let  him  go  as  far  as  the  door,  and  pull  him 
back  .  .  .  you  reduce  your  price  .  .  .  you  pull  him  back  from 
the  street  and  further  reduce.  .  .  .  (10)  A  business  man  should 
never  rest.  .  .  .  He  must  be  busy  day  and  night,  and  all  holi- 
daj's,  because  he  is  free  to  do  as  he  likes,  you  know;   is  his 

176 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

own  boss.    That's  why  he  left  the  shop  to  become  a  free 
man —"Ego,"  in  the  Day,  New  York  City,  July  12, 1915. 


Laziness 

Man  to  man:  The  other  day  I  went  to  a  concert,  and  in- 
stead of  listening  to  the  music  I  studied  the  program.  .  .  . 
All  future  artists  to  give  concerts  bore  Jewish  names.  .  .  . 
Why,  I  asked  myself,  do  the  Jews  produce  so  many  geniuses? 
Is  it  not  because  (this  I  whispered  so  that  the  nationalist 
within  me  may  not  overhear  my  thought)  the  Jew  is  habit- 
ually too  lazy  to  do  hard  work.''  Because  he  is  habitually 
clever  and  knows  that  to  tickle  a  violin  is  easier  than  doing 
something  else?  Is  it  not  because  it  is  more  sanitary  to  be  a 
genius  than  build  bridges?  Because  to  be  gifted  by  God  is 
more  profitable  than  milking  cows?  These  were  my  thoughts, 
silent,  pianissimo,  as  I  sat  through  a  concert  by  a  young 
virtuoso.  .  .  . — Day,  New  York  City. 

The  Intelligenisia 

.  .  .  And  the  Jewish  intellectual  went  forth  into  the  world 
and  beheld:  Round  and  round  were  might,  power,  pride, 
splendor.  Everj'where  was  light  and  life.  And  this  beauti- 
ful, rich  life  drew  him  toward  it — as  fire  draws  the  moth — 
and  he  burned  himself.  Anil  when  he  returned  to  his  people 
he  felt  humiliated  and  offended.  And  he  felt  this  still  more 
as  he  found  himself  in  his  home. — A.  Wohliner,  in  the  Day, 
New  York  City,  September  3,  1915. 

How  good  it  is  for  you,  how  well  it  is  for  you,  average 
person ! 

Your  heart  is  like  a  rock,  your  head  is  marble. 

No  wind  can  beat  you  and  no  storm  can  shake  you. 

You  travel  in  your  usual  direct  path,  no  matter  what  the 
great  heading  in  your  newspaper  should  be.  Whether  a  dead 
girl  was  found  packed  in  a  barrel,  or  whether  a  world  revolu- 
tion howls  from  pole  to  pole — it's  all  the  same;  your  tastes, 
your  hopes,  are  always  the  same. 

177 


THE  EVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

You  know  how  much  sugar  you  need  for  your  coffee,  how 
many  dollars  for  your  wife,  how  many  dances  and  jokes  in 
your  show. 

You  know  that  no  matter  what  happened,  no  matter  who 
rules,  you  will  remain  the  real  boss,  the  foimdation  of  life, 
the  guarantee  of  order. 

Let  all  the  storms  become  one  great  storm ;  let  all  the  cries 
of  woe  and  all  blood  struggles  flow  mto  one  gigantic,  howling 
death-cry  of  the  world — you  will  just  the  same  buy  up  on 
Saturday  evening  all  the  joyous  shows,  you  will  just  the  same 
have  calculated  just  how  much  more  you  will  have  to  pay  on 
your  endowment  policy;  you  will  still  quarrel  with  your  wife 
about  a  new  dress. 

You  are  greater  than  everything,  above  everything, 
stronger  than  everything,  more  Godlike  than  everything, 
you  rock  and  marble,  you — average  person! 

The  not  average  person! 

You  are  ludicrous  and  should  be  put  imder  observation, 
not  average  person! 

You  are  like  a  little  blade  of  grass  in  a  storm,  like  a  spark 
in  a  windy  fire. 

You  hobble  like  a  drunkard  and  grow  like  a  baby  with  each 
new  day,  with  every  new  breath  of  life. 

You  are  not  trustworthy  like  the  Lidian  ia  the  past,  and 
not  decided  like  a  woman. 

All  the  storms  of  the  world  leave  their  mark  in  your  heart 
and  the  branches  of  all  the  uprooted  trees  bore  through  your 
life  and  bcuig. 

You  eat  and  drink  and  sleep  and  love  your  wife  like  in  a 
dream — without  firmness,  without  seriousness.  In  your 
cloudy  tea  you  see  the  mud  of  the  world;  in  the  smile  of  love 
of  your  wife — only  limited  ignorance.  .  .  . 

Lights  flame  up  and  go  out  in  your  heart  a  thousand  in  a 
minute,  and  a  draught  blows  on  all  sides. 

You  want  to  guess  in  w^hat  land  will  occur  the  next  revolu- 
tion, and  cannot  guess  how  you  will  pay  your  rent. 

You  are  ready  to  suffer  in  pain  for  the  entire  world,  and 
your  o^Ti  trousers  have  not  been  pressed  for  three  weeks! 

178 


THE   COSMOPOLITAN   PRESS 

Unlucky,  not  average  person! — ^B.  Vladek,  in  the  Naye 
Welt,  New  York  City,  November  14,  1918. 

Begging 

.  .  .  The  greatest  swindlers  are  those  who,  on  pretense  of 
old  friendship,  extract  money  from  you.  ...  It  was  a  bitterly 
cold  night  ...  as  I  was  confronted  with  a  shabby-looking 
man,  thin,  unshaven,  and  trembling  from  head  to  foot.  Says 
he,  "Recognize  me?"  "No!"  "WTiy,  I  am  Yossel,  who 
went  to  school  with  you  at  home.  ...  I  used  to  spend  many 
days  at  your  house,"  and  he  shakes  my  hand.  .  .  .  "TNTiat 
can  I  do  for  you?"  says  I.  "You  must  save  me.  ...  I  knew 
your  father  ...  he  was  an  angel"  .  .  .  and  he  starts  to  cry. 
"\Miy  are  you  crying?"  "I  knew  your  mother;  she  was 
goodness  itself."  .  .  .  "Stop  your  crying  and  blowing  your 
nose.  What  do  you  want?"  "I  knew  your  whole  family," 
he  begins  anew.  He  also  enumerates  where  each  of  my  rela- 
tives lives  .  .  .  and  I  expect  to  be  touched  for  at  least  one 
hundred  dollars.  He  concludes:  " I  ask  no  charity.  I  merely 
want  a  loan,  that's  all.  Lend  me  a  quarter." — Day,  New 
York  City. 

Free  Love  and  Marriage 

Because  he  was  too  lazy  to  go  to  preparatory  school  to 
gather  "counts"  like  his  older  brother,  and  his  mother  made 
his  life  miserable — he  read  Yiddish  papers  and  was  an  anar- 
chist. And  because  he  was  an  anarchist,  he  wanted  to  like 
music,  and  he  let  his  hair  grow  until  it  was  big  enough  for 
both  an  anarchist  and  a  violin  virtuoso.  Bertha  felt  he  was 
the  right  man  for  her,  so  she  no  longer  looked  with  disfavor 
upon  Yiddish  papers,  ceased  buying  the  Times  every  morn- 
ing, and  donned  an  anarchist  blouse  with  a  black  tie.  When 
his  mother  saw  their  intimate  relations  she  discharged  the 
girl  from  the  shop.  If  they  had  no  serious  intentions  until 
then,  this  action  served  to  bring  them  closer  together,  and  they 
went  to  live  in  a  free  union.  .  .  . — F.  Stick,  in  the  Day,  New 
York  City,  January  1-1,  1917. 

In  the  first  place  I  must  acquaint  you  with  the  circum- 
stances under  which  I  caught  the  customer  [his  wife]  or  she 

179 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

caught  me.     It  will  take  up  much  room,  but  it  is  interesting. 

We  became  acquainted,  not  through  a  Shadchen  [marriage 
broker],  as  is  customary  in  America,  or  at  a  showering  foun- 
tain bathed  in  the  sun's  golden  rays;  not  in  a  theater  box, 
as  is  the  rule  among  the  aristocrats. 

By  a  garbage  hill,  between  her  parents'  and  my  parents' 
house,  we  became  acquainted.  I  had  won  her  heart  by  a 
chivalrous  deed.  She  introduced  herself  as  Nami,  and  led 
me  to  their  orchard,  where  all  kinds  of  fruits  and  berries 
grew.  Thanks  to  this  orchard,  she  won  my  heart.  I  soon 
became  familiar  with  the  orchard,  and  if  her  father  would 
chase  me  out,  my  chivalrous  pride  was  not  ofiFended  and  I 
would  come  again.  I  was  then  a  chap  up  in  years — the  fifth 
year,  and  had  already  studied  in  Chedar  [religious  school]. 
And  Nami  was  six  weeks  younger  than  myself. 

I  did  not  at  that  time  think  of  a  Skiduch  [betrothal].  This 
suggestion  had  been  made  by  her  mother.  That  happened 
on  Passover  Eve,  after  the  cremation  of  Chometz  [burning  of 
what  should  not  be  eaten  on  Passover,  leavened  bread]; 
they  mated  us  to  go  to  the  stream  and  together  wash  the 
utensils  for  Passover.  It  was  while  doing  that  that  her 
mother  stumbled  upon  the  plan  that  as  we  are  both  the 
same  stature,  same  age,  we  would  make  an  excellent  couple. 

And  so  we  used  to  be  together  from  Passover  Eve  until 
after  Sukos  [hoHday].  The  Sukoh  [booth,  tabernacle]  was 
built  by  both  her  father  and  mine. 

Nami  was  about  to  be  chased  out  of  the  Sukoh,  and  she 
pointed  at  me  and  wanted  to  know  why  I  was  sitting  inside, 
and  added  that  she  was  just  as  much  mensch  [a  person]  as  I 
was.  I  defended  her,  and  my  father  also  put  in  a  good  word 
for  her,  and  she  remained  in  the  Sukoh.  We  more  than  once 
ate  out  of  the  same  plate. 

During  the  winter  I  would  forget  the  existence  of  Nami, 
who  lives  across  from  our  house.  She  used  to  peep  into  oiu* 
house  and  ask  me  why  I  do  not  come  to  see  her,  and  I  re- 
plied, trutlifuUy,  "No  berries  are  growing  in  the  winter,  so 
why  should  I  come?"  Our  "love"  lasted  until  our  eleventh 
year. 

Every  love  story  has  its  villains,  snakes,  blizzards.  .  . . 
180 


THE   COSMOPOLITAN   PRESS 

Meyerke,  my  Chedar  chum,  who  is  a  distant  neighbor, 
found  out  that  I  am  in  favor  with  Nami,  so  he  came  and  de- 
manded that  she  give  him,  too,  something  from  the  orchard. 

She  told  him  to  go  to  Hades  and  stay  there  a  long  time. 
Meyerke  told  the  story  to  the  Chedar  teacher  and  to  the 
Chedar  chums — that  I  am  playing  with  a  girl.  To  play  with 
a  girl  was  considered  even  more  harmful  for  study  than  eating 
brains  or  cheese,  and  so  my  nickname  became  "Nami."  This 
shame-name  was  very  embarrassing  and  disgraceful  to  me. 

But  the  chief  villain  was  my  teacher.  One  Saturday  after- 
noon we — all  the  Chedar  boys — played  around;  played  sol- 
diers, climbed  trees,  imtil  I  suddenly  remembered  that  after 
his  nap  the  teacher  would  examine  me.  As  my  face  was  red 
from  perspiration  I  went  into  Nami's  front  yard  and  sat  on 
a  log  under  a  shady  tree  to  cool  dovra. 

Nami  brought  me  some  cherries,  and  herself  stuffed  my 
pocket  so  that  it  would  be  unnoticeable.  My  mother  came 
to  look  for  me:  "The  teacher  is  here."  Her  arrival  disturbed 
me  greatly,  for  she  more  than  once  told  me  that  for  a  boy 
who  already  studied  with  Shloime,  it  is  improf>er  to  chum 
with  a  girl.  And  another  reason  for  my  uneasiness  was  that 
I  was  not  yet  cooled  down.  I  was  sure  to  get  it  from  my 
father  if  he  saw  me  in  such  a  condition,  for  my  face  was  still 
red.  I  followed  my  mother  like  one  sentenced  to  death,  and 
my  face  began  to  burn  still  more. 

The  rabbeh  [teac-her]  and  my  father  were  sitting  over  a  glass 
of  tea  and  a  dish  of  cherries.  The  rabbeh  was  telling  my  father 
of  his  trouble  with  his  wife.  When  my  father  perceived  my 
reddened  face  I  at  once  felt  that  to-day's  examination  would 
bring  me  no  good  results.  Well,  I  read  the  Shier  [measure  in 
the  Gemorrhe]  apprehensively,  and  did  not  know  what  I  said. 
It  was  a  smooth  Shier,  though,  and  I  rattle<l  it  off  machine- 
like; but  at  the  end  I  stumbled  upon  a  buck  that  broke  a 
barrel  and  I  had  to  judge  whether  the  owner  of  the  buck 
was  obliged  to  pay  for  the  barrel.  I  became  confused.  My 
father  hastily  closed  the  Gemorrhe,  and  pushed  me  away 
from  the  table,  saying:  "Away  from  here,  you  Bad-Yung 
[bad  boy]  of  the  Gemorrhe!  WTiy  does  such  a  loafer  come 
to  a  Gemorrhe?    He  needs  a  toy  horse,  not  a  Gemorrhe! 

181 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

I  will  make  a  shoemaker  out  of  him;  a  tailor;  a  cotton 
maker!" 

"He  was  in  Nami's  front  yard,"  my  mother  adds  spice; 
and  empties  my  pocket  of  the  cherries  and  puts  them  on  the 
table.  "I,  myself,  saw  Nami  put  the  cherries  into  his  pocket, 
so  true  may  I  see  him  in  comfort  and  joy." 

"Yes,"  says  the  rabbch,  "the  Chedar  boys  told  me  that  as 
soon  as  he  gets  through  in  Chedar  he  immediately  rushes  over 
to  Nami,  who  lives  around  here.  For  this  I  am  not  to  blame. 
I  am  not  responsible  for  whatever  happens  out  of  Chedar, 
and  cannot  prevent  it." 

My  mother  takes  out  a  full  bowl  of  cherries  from  behind 
the  stove,  and  addresses  the  rabbeh:  "Do  you  think,  JVlr. 
Shloime,  that  I  keep  these  from  him,  that  I  keep  things  xmder 
lock  and  cover  like  other  mothers?  I  used  to  give  him  plenty 
of  berries  and  other  fruits,  but  Nami's  are  more  appetizing. 
He  sometimes  waits  a  whole  hour  behind  her  wall  just  to 
receive  her  cherries."  And  my  mother  broke  into  tears. 
The  rabbeh  says  that  one  must  not  cry  on  Saturday.  My 
father  approaches  me  angrily — I  am  standing  in  a  corner, 
covering  my  face  with  my  hands — and  my  mother  steps  in 
between  father  and  myself,  ready  to  defend  me.  The  rabbeh 
interceded  in  behalf  of  peace.  I  promised  them  all  never 
again  to  see  Nami,  and  my  sin  was  forgiven. 

After  Saturday  I  went  to  Nami  to  inform  her  of  our  judg- 
ment— that  we  were  to  sever  all  our  relations  hereafter.  As 
I  began  to  relate  my  woes  to  her,  as  if  from  beneath  the 
ground,  the  full  figure  of  the  rabbeh  appears,  scratching  his 
throat  with  one  finger — as  was  his  custom  summer  and  win- 
ter. He  spoke  nothing.  He  somehow  extracted  his  finger 
from  under  his  throat  and  began  to  slap  me. 

"Do  not  hit  him!"  Springs  up  Nami  and  attempts  to 
grasp  his  loam-colored  beard,  but  she  cannot  reach  it.  Nami 
steps  aside,  picks  up  a  stone,  and  hits  the  rabbeh  in  his  side. 
He  .  .  .  runs  after  her,  but  she  is  far,  far  away  from  him.  He 
went  inside  her  house  and  told  her  parents,  and  the  result 
was  that  Nami  was  punished  upon  that  upon  which  the  world 
is  sitting. 

From  that  day  I  did  not  see  Nami  until  she  came  into  our 
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Sukoh.  And  there  she  stood  with  lowered  eyes  and  looked 
at  no  one.  As  she  went  out  she  raised  her  cherry -black,  tear- 
ful eyes  to  me,  her  upper  lip  twisted  ready  to  cry  .  .  .  which 
carried  a  bitter  reproach  for  me:  "All  your  fault! "  I  felt  my 
heart  ripping,  and  with  difficulty  I  kept  my  own  tears  back. 

Some  time  later  she  used  to  come  into  our  house  to  show 
my  father  her  \sTiting,  for  she  was  being  taught  that.  But 
we  two  became  estranged  and  she  ceased  to  interest  me. 

For  my  Bar-Mitzuoh  [Confirmation  at  the  age  of  thirteen], 
she  sewed  a  Mogen-David  [insignia  of  King  David]  upon  my 
phylacteries  bag,  with  her  and  my  name  under  the  lining. 
This  I  found  out  only  four  years  later. 

One  year  after  my  confirmation,  Nami  declared  her  love 
for  me  in  WTiting.  She  alreadj'  read  love  stories  and  I  did 
not.  I  did  not  know  the  meaning  of  a  love  story;  I  was 
ignorant,  fanatic,  and  a  fondling,  a  mother's  ornament! 

The  feeling  of  love  was  unknown  to  me  and  you  will  there- 
fore not  be  surprised  that  I  did  not  understand  her  note. 
At  last  she  proposed  to  me  personally.  She  kissed  me — I 
was  angry.  It  was  such  a  burning,  damp  kiss!  I  wiped  my 
cheek  with  my  sleeve,  and  angrily  exclaimed:  *'\Miat  right 
have  you  to  kiss  me?    You  are  not  my  mother!" 

After  the  unsuccessful  kiss  I  did  not  see  Nami  for  a  long 
time.    She  used  to  come  to  us  when  I  was  not  aroimd. 

About  a  quarter  of  a  year  later  I  began  to  comprehend  the 
meaning  of  her  kiss,  and  half  a  year  later  I  was  more  read 
than  she.  I  had  read  the  best  Hebrew  books  and  magazines. 
AVhen  I  read  Ahavas  Zion  I  already  felt  that  Nami  was  close 
to  my  heart.  But  where  does  .  .  .  that  fiction  compare  with 
my  own  Nami!  I  want  to  see  her,  reconcile  her,  but  can  find 
no  opportunity.  She  always  comes  when  I  am  in  the  sjTia- 
gogue,  and  very  rarely.  Once  she  happened  to  come  when 
I  was  in  the  house,  but  she  noticed  me  as  much  as  she  did 
the  cat.  Oh,  how  beautiful  she  was!  I  am  tortured  by  pangs 
of  remorse.  Besides,  I  must  watch  out  for  my  mother,  who 
repeatedly  teaches  me  how  to  behave  like  a  superior  person, 
not  to  talk  to  everybody  that  comes  along,  how  to  say  Sholom 
Aleichem  [How  do  you  do?]  to  a  strange  Jew,  and  shun  girls 
like  a  plague;   I  might  get  a  bad  name! 

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THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

And  deep  in  my  heart  I  felt  a  terrible  burning! 

After  reading  the  first  two  Jewish  love  stories  so  as  to 
"break  in"  writing  a  letter,  I  gathered  courage,  and  wrote 
Nami  a  long  letter.  ...  I  wrote  her  the  entire  truth:  I  was  a 
fool  and  did  not  understand;  now  I  am  clever,  and  under- 
stand everything  like  an  adult.  "So  please,  Nami  dear,  for- 
give me.  For  your  unsuccessful  kiss  I  can  give  you  perhaps 
twenty  in  return.  Think  of  our  happy  childhood  days!  The 
happy  summers  we  used  to  spend  together!  The  swing  in 
your  front  yard;  how  we  used  to  go  picking  berries  in  the 
woods  on  Tishe-Bar  [holiday],  rinse  the  new  utensils  for  Pass- 
over, sit  in  the  Sukoh  and  eat  out  of  one  dish."  And  such 
other  recollections. 

It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  I  succeeded  in  delivering 
my  letter.  But  I  immediately  received  a  reply.  Her  short 
note  said:  "My  former  friend,  what  right  have  you  to  kiss 
me?    Are  you  my  mother?    Nami." 

In  America,  unlike  Warsaw,  our  condition  improved  more 
and  more.  Then  a  slight  change  for  the  worse  occurred,  but 
we  managed  to  live  as  economically  as  the  average  workmen. 
Our  children  are  beautiful,  accomplished,  and  very  intelli- 
gent. I  need  not  worry  over  them.  Even  my  youngest  is 
nearly  self-supporting. 

And  now  in  my  old  age  comes  the  saddest  part !  My  Nami's 
uncle  passed  away.  Since  we  have  been  in  America  (nearly 
twenty- three  years),  we  have  seen  him  twice.  He  was  an 
uncle  like  all  other  uncles  but  for  a  hump  on  his  back.  He 
was  a  God-fearing  man  and  he  was  given  a  respectable  funeral. 

After  that  my  wife  asked  me  to  buy  her  a  couple  of  Mezu- 
zahs  [doorpost  parchment].  Thinking  that  she  imdoubtedly 
means  something  else,  I  repeat  her  question:  '^Mezuzahs?  I 
have  two  very  beautiful  and  lovely  Mezuzahs."  She  becomes 
anxious,  and  I  point  out  her  two  beautiful  cheeks,  and  at  the 
same  time  treat  them  as  such  [Mezuzahs  are  kisses  by  the 
religious]. 

But  she  replies  that  she  meant  real  Mezuzahs. 

Well,  my  wife  claims  that  she  sees  her  uncle  in  her  dreams, 
and  he  asks  her  to  repent.    I  gaze  into  her  cherry-black  eyes 

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THE   COSMOPOLITAN   PRESS 

and  say  nothing.  She  says  that  with  the  advent  of  age  a 
person's  ideas  change.  So  I  asked  her  to  send  her  uncle  to 
me  if  he  came  to  her  again,  since  he  had  not  far  to  go.  But 
the  uncle  is  cleverer  than  pious  and  he  does  not  even  visit 
her  now.  She  has  bought  Mezxizahs  herself.  Evidently  these 
have  driven  him  off. 

But  he  need  not  return  again,  for  she  is  constantly  in  peni- 
tence. She  has  a  whole  library  of  prayer  books.  And  so  my 
dear  Nami  became  changed  in  her  old  age.  Since  her  uncle's 
departure  she  has  become  gloomy  and  dreamy.  Sometimes 
she  sheds  tears  like  pearls  over  the  "Works." 

Is  this  the  same  Nami  who  once  said,  "If  there  ever  was  a 
God,  he  must  have  been  accursed  by  the  WTonged  ones  long 
ago". 5* 

To-day  she  tells  me  that  her  uncle  was  right  twenty-three 
years  ago  and  that  God  will  punish  me  for  leaving  a  good 
position  and  seeking  a  better  one. 

We  have  everything  we  need.  The  only  thing  I  desire  is 
to  get  my  Nami's  cheerful  disposition  back  again — and  her 
good  humor.  Unfortunately  she  has  become  estranged  from 
these  qualities — and  at  such  a  time  in  our  lives!  ^Mien  we 
have  reache<l  the  best  years  of  our  lives — middle  age! 

She  still  possesses  the  same  black  hair,  small  forehead 
without  the  slightest  wrinkle,  and  in  her  cherry-black  eyes 
there  still  burns  an  eternal  fire,  one  wink  of  which  is  enough 
to  make  one  feel  thirty  years  younger. 

If  I  could  only  have  a  conversation  with  her  God !  I  would 
tell  him  the  story  that  the  prophet  Nathan  told  King  David 
— the  story  of  the  sheep:  "You,  God,  have  tens  of  millions 
of  'servant  girls,'  whereas  I  have  only  one  little  sheep  who 
has  been  brought  up  together  with  me,  and  who  has  followed 
me  since  childhood;  she  is  my  only  hope  in  life;  I  take  care 
of  her  as  of  my  eyes,  share  my  food  with  her,  protect  her  by 
day  and  by  night,  and  you  take  her  away  from  me  and  make 
her  for  your  servant  girl !  I  am  worse  off  than  Uriah  Hachity, 
for  he  w-as  shot  dead  and  was  relieved  of  his  suffering;  but  I 
live  and  must  see  how  my  little  sheep  .  .  .  makes  love  to  you." 

But  how  can  I  argue  with  Him  if  He  sits  upstairs  on  the 
eighth  heaven  and  smiles  behind  ffis  divine  mustache! 

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THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Al  Taschicheinn  Leis  Ziknuh  [Do  not  forsake  me  in  my 
old  a^e],  brave  comrade!  Back  in  our  childhood  you  have 
kindled  in  my  heart  the  inextinguishable,  divine  love-flames; 
let  us  further  stick  together,  body  and  soul.  I  know  your 
intentions  are  good — you  wish  to  do  me  a  favor  and  secure 
me  a  little  "pull"  over  there,  but  until  that  time  comes  I 
would  rather  see  your  beautiful  dimples  in  your  cheeks  .  .  . 
than  see  tears  upon  them,  even  tears  of  such  a  nature!  .  .  . 
As  we  have  stuck  together  since  childhood,  even  so  let  us 
further  stick  together,  body  and  spirit,  until  our  real  old 
age.  Then  we  will  pray,  not  to  your  God,  who  is  being  made 
a  business  of — like  the  gypsy  and  the  bear — but  to  our  old 
God,  who  mated  us  and  helped  us  overcome  the  obstacles 
in  our  lives;  to  Him  we  will  pray,  "Oh,  do  not  separate 
us,  O  God,  even  after  our  old  age!" — Ish  Kami. 

N.  B. — Have  you  anything  to  say  about  that?  Go  ahead, 
but  be  careful,  for  you  may  lose  my  Nami  as  a  reader. — Ish 
Nami. 

It  would  not  be  amiss  to  assure  some  readers  that  this  is 
no  fiction  .  .  .  but  the  real  life  of  the  wTiter.  The  attentive 
ones  will  recognize  it  by  its  original  humor.  The  best  remedy 
for  Nami  is  his  own  letter,  and  our  wish  is  that  his  pathetic 
appeal  to  her  now,  in  their  second  youth,  shall  convert  her 
just  as  his  notes  in  past  years  had  converted  her. — "BinteIj- 
BRiEF,"  in  Jewish  Daily  Forward,  New  York  City. 

East  Side  Radicals  in  New  England  and  Riissia 

For  the  past  ten  years  in  Lawrence,  Massachusetts,  so- 
called  radical  organizations  have  been  getting  busy  every 
winter.  They  issue  calls  to  the  youth  to  awake,  that  "the 
time  has  come"  to  do  some  work,  and  the  dear  youth  quietly 
play  poker  or  pinochle.  If  ever  they  do  come  together  for 
some  work  they  soon  split  and  start  new  organizations  to 
** spread  light,"  to  "educate  ourselves  and  others."  This 
spreading  of  light  usually  ends  in  an  entertainment.  ...  So 
it  goes  on  winter  after  winter,  leaving  more  organizations 
.  .  .  who  do  nothing.  Rival  factions  peddle  with  radicalism, 
but  nothing  is  accomplished.  ...  A  Paole  Zion  branch  was 

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THE   COSMOPOLITAN   PRESS 

organized,  also  a  dramatic  club,  though  the  Hebrew  Inde- 
pendent Library  is  about  to  be  strangled  by  "good  friends." 
That  is  the  sum  total  of  this  writer's  activity  there.  .  .  . — 
Day,  New  York  City,  March  10,  1917. 

Every  one  of  the  immigrants  hoped  to  make  himself  useful. 
Every  one  of  them  thought  that  the  American  labor  move- 
ments enlightened  him  enough  to  make  himself  useful.  But 
it  has  proved  that  tlie  Russian  revolution  has  leaped  over  so 
many  barriers  that  it  is  impossible  to  follow  it  up.  For  in- 
stance, of  what  value  are  experiences  gained  on  the  extreme 
left  wing  of  the  Jewish- American  labor  movement  with  its 
idealism,  which  the  immigrant  approved  of  and  suffered  for, 
since  the  workers  here  have  progressed  so  far  and  gained 
control  of  tlie  factories,  and  the  employer  and  his  foreman 
are  taken  on  a  wheelbarrow  and  dumped  into  tlie  pond?  I 
met  people  from  different  branches  and  some  from  the  Amal- 
gamated. I  have  also  met  people  from  the  left  wing  of  the 
waist  makers  and  other  trades,  and  some  "daring"  I.  W.  W.'s, 
who  thought  that  they  were  carrying  with  them  a  spring  of 
a  new  doctrine,  but  it  all  proved  to  be  only  old  talk. 

I  met  quite  a  number  who  used  to  be  prominent  in  our 
street,  who  were  not  backseaters,  but  a  whole  wheel  in  the 
Red  machine,  men  who  were  not  permitted  to  leave  without 
a  few  banquets,  and  they  are  now  walking  around  here  with 
drooping  heads  and  as  black  as  the  earth.  .  .  . 

There  are  a  great  many  of  them — they  have  adapted  them- 
selves well,  and  ])articularly  those  who  have  the  necessary 
amount  of  nerve  and  a  big  mouth.  I  could  give  you  a  whole 
list  of  cities  and  countrysides  which  are  led  by  the  nose  by 
the  immigrants.  I  myself  have  seen  how  immigrants,  whom 
we  might  call  shipbrothers,  "took"  away  whole  battalions 
of  soldiers  and  the  whole  working  force  of  factories  from  the 
"enemy's"  party  with  just  a  few  strong  phrases,  and  then 
did  with  them  as  they  pleased.  The  immigrants  are  pouring 
tar  and  sulphur  on  the  land  from  which  they  came,  and  make 
an  impression  on  the  people  by  cursing  the  American  capi- 
talists. Morgan  and  Rockefeller  have  a  distinct  reputation 
among  the  masses,  thanks  to  the  immigrants.  You  often 
come  across  Russian  workers  or  soldiers  who  clearly  pro- 
13  1S7 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

nounce  the  word  "polltlshen"  with  the  same  detestation  as 
their  immigrant  teachers. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  immigrants  here  are  con- 
tented. As  one  of  them  told  me  whom  I  had  met  in  Chicago, 
where  he  always  took  a  hand  in  every  debate  at  the  union 
meetings.  Here  he  is  the  leader  of  his  party  in  a  small 
town,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  initial  meeting  of  the  Jewish 
assembly : 

"How  can  Russia  even  be  compared  with  America?  Take 
me,  for  example.  Over  there  I  used  to  be  a  shop  worker, 
had  hardly  time  to  attend  a  meeting,  and  everybody  looked 
down  on  me.  Here  I  am  a  somebody.  I  am  again  what  I 
used  to  be  before  I  went  to  America,  as  you  can  see  for  your- 
self." 

That  is,  we  might  say,  sensible.  Economically,  almost  all 
the  immigrants  adapted  themselves.  The  mtelligent  Russian 
middle  class  was  removed  directly  after  the  revolution,  and 
the  more  the  intelligent  class  was  put  aside  the  more  the 
revolution  "deepened."  Anyone  who  can  handle  a  pen  and 
is  capable  of  adding  two  and  two  soon  finds  himself.  Those 
who  have  a  trade  were  made  presidents,  committeemen,  and 
what  not;  it  is  natural  that  here  where  the  people  starve 
they  must  starve  with  them,  but  comparatively  they  are  not 
badly  off,  and  a  lot  of  Russians  would  like  to  be  in  their 
shoes. 

But  do  not  believe  that  they  are  all  particularly  happy. 

The  damned  capitalists  of  the  country  they  came  from  at 
least  gave  something  which  this  uncertain  life  does  not  offer. 
To  see  the  wives  and  children  of  the  immigrants  is  heart- 
rending, and  the  thought  arises:  Is  it  the  fault  of  these  inno- 
cent little  ones  that  Russia  wanted  a  revolution? 

In  America  their  standard  was  ridiculed,  and  letters  nave 
shown  that  they  are  misunderstood. 

Here  they  miss  the  few  rooms;  small,  perhaps,  but  light, 
and  with  plenty  of  air.  They  miss  Bronx  Park,  Central  Park, 
Seward  Park,  and  Brownsville.  They  miss  the  running 
hot  and  cold  water,  the  bathtub,  the  dumbwaiter  on  which 
the  groceryman  used  to  send  up  the  milk  and  rolls  on  credit. 
They  miss  the  ice-cream  parlor  and  the  nickel  show,  and 

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THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS 

also  the  clotheslines.  And  they  cannot  forget  the  gas,  over 
which  only  was  needed  a  match  and  things  were  done — a 
glass  of  tea  and  a  whole  supper  was  ready  before  they  even 
finished  their  chat  with  the  next-door  neighbor. 

The  comfortable  bourgeoise  life  is  missing.  Here  they 
stand  on  the  moors  for  a  bit  of  black  bread — for  a  little  milk 
for  the  child — which  is  not  always  to  be  had,  and  as  their 
nerves  are  weak,  they  are  getting  tired  of  the  "fortune." 
And  when  they  remember  their  mistake,  their  faces  are  no 
longer  hidden  in  their  dirty  aprons  when  the  tears  roll  down 
their  cheeks. 

There  is  revolution  in  Russia,  and  also  civil  war;  and  be- 
fore anyone  decides  to  come  here  let  him  remember  that  old 
Jewish  saying,  "He  who  is  afraid,  he  who  has  built  himself 
a  house,  and  he  who  has  married  a  wife  should  remain  in  his 
tent."— Day,  New  York  City,  March  3,  1918. 

Atmosphere 
...  In  141  Division  Street  .  .  .  "Sholem's  restaurant"  .  .  . 
you  will  find  the  creators  of  the  Jewish  press.  You  will  always 
find  them  there,  day  or  night.  New  worlds  are  being  created 
and  destroyed  there.  Newspapers  founded,  and  their  policies 
shaped,  and  editors  appointed.  At  the  table  sits  a  man 
whom  nobody  can  tolerate,  and  yet  were  he  to  miss  one 
day  the  incompleteness  of  the  gathering  would  be  felt.  .  .  . 
They  argue  among  themselves,  insult  each  other,  and  not 
infrequently  blows  are  exchanged.  Most  of  the  quarrels  are 
not  of  personal  origin,  but  are  the  result  of  clashes  on  ideas 
and  forms  of  propaganda.  Not  a  single  world-problem 
escapes  their  discussion.  This  place  is  a  center  of  Jewish 
thought  .  .  .  they  often  chip  in  dimes  and  quarters  and  make 
a  feast  with  wine  .  .  .  those  who  do  not  contribute  also  get  a 
drink.  .  .  . — R.  Wortman,  in  the  Day,  New  York  City, 
March  11,  1917. 

...  I  went  to  the  English  theater.  The  play  is  passable, 
but  the  theater!  It  is  not  like  our  Jewish  theater.  First  of 
all  I  found  it  so  quiet  there  .  .  .  that  I  could  not  hear  a  sound! 
There  were  no  cries  of  "Sha!"  "Shut  up!"  or  "Order!"  and 
no  babies  cried — as  if  it  were  no  theater  at  all! . . . 

189 


THE  IIVUMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

And  then,  there  is  a  total  lack  of  apples,  candy,  or  soda, 
just  like  in  a  desert. 

There  are  some  Gentile  girls  who  go  around  among  the 
audience  handing  out  glasses  of  water,  but  this  I  can  get  at 
home,  too.  .  .  . — Day,  New  York  City,  November  11,  1915. 

Sophistication 

The  First  Murder  and  Adam's  Children 

Life  was  quiet  and  weary  after  Adam  and  Eve  were  expelled 
from  the  Garden  of  Eden.  The  newspapers  were  pale  as  an 
editorial  and  stale  as  a  Kundes  joke,  and  wearisome  as  a 
yawn.  No  sensations,  murders,  scandals,  divorces — nothing. 
.  .  .  When  the  people  tired  of  fighting  among  themselves  as 
sisters  and  brothers  .  .  .  they  married,  and  for  a  change 
quarreled  as  man  and  wife.  The  gangs  were  as  yet  unkno^^Ti, 
so  that  an  enemy  could  not  be  eliminated  for  a  few  dollars 
and  no  one  would  venture  to  commit  murder  himself ;  besides, 
there  were  too  little  "police  protection"  at  that  time.  .  .  . 
So  the  reporters  anxiously  waited  for  the  first  murder  to 
bring  life  and  circulation.  At  last  it  came!  Full  of  thrills, 
love,  jealousy,  and  prominent  heroes.  Cain  had  slain  Abel. 
...  As  Cain  had  no  money  for  a  lawyer  who  would  have  sent 
him  to  the  gallows,  he  managed  to  escape  punishment.  .  .  . 
One  of  his  descendants  .  .  .  invented  the  harp  and  pipe,  and 
since  that  day  every  Jewish  home  became  a  musical  place. 
All  Jewish  children  now  play — violin,  piano,  'cello,  cornet, 
phonograph,  and  pianola.  .  .  .  Another  descendant  invented 
the  art  of  forging  iron  and  copper,  and  his  great-grandchildren 
have  worked  themselves  up  in  America.  Carnegie  has  as- 
sumed control  of  the  steel  trust,  and  in  his  old  age  began  to 
build  libraries  and  advocate  universal  peace;  Guggenlieim 
has  grabbed  the  copper  industry;  he  does  not,  however,  give 
any  charity,  for  he  does  not  like  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles 
do  not  like  him. — Day,  New  York  City. 

The  Deluge  and  Noah's  Ark 

Humanity  had  multiplied.  .  .  .  There  were  no  amusements, 
no  birth-control  propaganda.   Mormons  were  admitted   to 

190 


THE   COSMOPOLITAN   PRESS 

America — so  our  population  kept  increasing.  .  .  .  And  they 
sinned  .  .  .  and  they  went  so  far  as  to  sell  pork  with  a  kosher 
stamp  on  it;  cattle  slaughterers  joined  the  United  Hebrew 
Trades,  and  when  a  rabbi  was  caught  who  was  able  to  read 
he  was  placed  in  a  museum.  .  .  .  And  God  decided  to  bring  a 
deluge.  .  .  .  Noah,  being  hasty  in  his  collection  of  couples, 
made  a  peculiar  job!  So,  for  instance,  he  mated  the  devil 
with  the  evil  mother-in-law,  the  lie  with  the  newspaper,  the 
Jewish  poet  with  poverty,  Jewish  knowledge  with  hard  luck, 
Jewish  wisdom  with  idling,  etc.  .  .  .  For  forty  days  and  forty 
nights  it  poured  as  if  from  a  Broome  Street  fire  escape.  .  .  . 
The  cost  of  umbrellas  went  up  .  .  .  protest  meetings  were 
organized,  a  boycott,  a  threat  of  revolution  was  made,  the 
government  staged  a  series  of  investigations,  but  the  end 
was  a  sad  one — humanity  was  drowned.  .  .  .  God  repented, 
even  if  a  little  too  late;  the  earth  dried  up  and  the  Ark  became 
firmly  attached  to  it,  just  like  an  American  submarine  built 
on  the  "efficiency"  basis.  Such  a  type  of  submarine,  as  you 
know,  has  a  tendency  to  remain  on  the  groimd,  or  it  sinks  to 
the  bottom  of  the  river  and  stays  there.  Well,  as  the  world 
was  as  barren  as  an  isolated  Brownsville  lot  after  the  "  boom," 
God  blessed  Noah  to  multiply.  ...  As  proof  that  He  will 
never  again  bring  a  deluge,  God  gave  us  the  rainbow  .  .  . 
which  brings  comfort  to  the  poor  Jews  suffering  from  pat- 
ented umbrellas  which  never  open  during  a  rain  and  refuse 
to  close  when  the  sun  shines  again.  .  .  . — Day,  New  York 
City. 

The  present  relief  tag-days  for  war  sufferers  have  brought 
little  results.  People  were  too  lazy  to  put  their  hands  into 
their  pockets  because  it  was  raining  .  .  .  and  on  the  whole 
our  fowl-eating,  wine-drinking,  theater-going  public  became 
indifferent  to  the  great  world-strike;  no  more  tears  are 
aroused  by  the  descriptions  of  terrible  misfortunes  ...  no 
more  poetry  by  weeping  poets  at  fifteen  cents  per  line  .  ,  . 
it  has  become  banal,  uninteresting.  .  .  .  Because  we  are  men. 
...  If  we  had  a  daily  world-extinction  we  would  not  even 
notice  it,  because,  of  what  significance  is  a  theoretical  world- 
wreck  as  compared  to  the  pinch  of  your  own  shoe.''   a  theo- 

191 


THE  BBIIGRiVNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

retical  earthquake  to  the  cross  look  of  your  girl?  the  greatest 
national  disaster  to  your  little  cough?  The  greatest  tragedies 
no  longer  fascinate  or  excite  us.  .  .  .  Let  us  have  new  world- 
catastrophes,  ruins  de  luxe  bound  in  silk,  fresh  tragedies  .  .  . 
for  we  are  weary  and  need  .  .  .  something  nevf.—Day,  New 
York  City. 


vin 

THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS  AND  THE  WAR 

For  a  long  time  after  the  war  began,  in  1914,  the  cos- 
mopoHtan  press  was  more  concerned  about  it  than  was 
the  American  press.  The  war  awakened  old  European 
antagonisms,  part  of  the  heritage  of  the  immigrant 
peoples  which  the  Americans  did  not  share.  Moreover, 
it  meant  to  many  immigrant  peoples,  to  the  Poles, 
Czechs,  Slovaks,  Serbs,  Slovenes,  Lithuanians,  Letts, 
Syrians,  Albanians,  and  Armenians,  the  possible  reali- 
zation of  their  national  hopes.  Interest  in  the  future 
of  the  home  country  was  so  ardent  that  many  people 
wished  either  to  be  identified  with  it  here  or  to  return. 
Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  tried  to  control  the 
sentiments  and  conduct  of  their  American  emigrants, 
and  even  resorted  to  threats.  In  most  cases,  however, 
the  attempt  to  enforce  loyalty  upon  disloyal  or  luke- 
warm nationals  in  this  country  was  not  successful. 
Even  those  German  editors  who,  before  America  en- 
tered the  war,  put  themselves  unreservedly  at  the  serv- 
ice of  the  German  propaganda,  resented  being  treated 
as  mere  "colonials,"  and  occasionally  protested  against 
the  lack  of  intelligence  in  regard  to  American  public 
opinion  displayed  by  the  papers  in  Germany. 

It  is  really  time  for  the  press  of  Germany  to  consider 
American  conditions  with  greater  intelligence.  The  relation 
of  citizens  of  German  descent  in  the  United  States,  especially, 
seems  still  to  be  regarded  on  the  other  side  in  an  entirely 
wrong  way!  Otherwise,  such  a  sentence  as  appears  in  the 
Kolnische  Zeitung  concerning  America  and  the  war  could 
not  be  written:   "Our  best  allies,  now  and  hitherto,  will  be 

193 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

the  German-Americans,  whose  task  is  to  be  to  explain  the 
true  German  position  to  the  crassly  ignorant  in  America." 
This  sentence  rests  on  an  entirely  false  conception.^ 

However,  it  was  not  only  Europe  that  tried  to  con- 
trol the  immigrant;  the  immigrant  wanted  to  control 
Europe.  The  Polish  National  Alliance,  with  the  back- 
ing of  prominent  American-Poles,  like  the  Chicago 
banker  Smulski,  picked  its  own  candidate,  Paderewski, 
and  sent  him  to  rule  Poland.  Their  experiment  was 
not  successful.  The  press,  which  was  opposed  to  the 
Polish  National  Alliance,  criticized  sharply  this  attempt 
of  the  American  colony  to  interfere  in  Poland's  affairs. 
A  definition  of  the  peculiar  relation  of  an  immigrant 
colony  to  the  mother  country  took  place  gradually  dur- 
ing the  war. 

It  was  not  easy  to  be  the  editor  of  a  foreign-language 
paper  in  America  during  the  World  War  and  afterward. 
The  excitements  of  the  war  brought  to  the  surface  old 
memories  and  loyalties  long  neglected  or  forgotten. 
It  created  in  many  of  the  immigrant  peoples  in  America 
a  sense  of  divided  loyalty,  for  which  editors  were  able 
to  find  no  healing  formulas. 

All  this  manifested  itself  in  the  instability  of  editorial 
policy.  It  was  a  fortunate  editor  who  was  able  to  pur- 
sue a  consistent  policy,  or  one  which  would  satisfy  at 
the  same  time  the  demands  of  his  readers  and  of  the 
governmental  censorship.  There  was  a  disposition  to 
write  to-day  to  satisfy  the  larger  American  public  and 
to-morrow  to  appeal  to  the  narrower  loyalty  of  the 
immigrant  readers.  Sometimes  these  papers  faced 
both  ways  in  the  same  issue,  saying  one  thing  in 
English  and  a  different  thing  in  the  language  of  the 
immigrant. 

^  Westliche  Post  (German),  St.  Louis.  Reprinted  from  the  New 
York  Herold. 

194 


THE  COSMOPOLIT.\N  PRESS  AND  THE  W^VR 

Stephen  Fay,  the  editor  of  a  Hungarian  weekly  in 
Chicago,  describes  the  amazement  of  the  readers  of  the 
Hungarian  daihes  at  the  sudden  front-about  of  their 
papers:  ^ 

Let  us  cast  a  glance  at  the  doings  of  the  American  Hun- 
garians since  the  United  States  declared  war  on  the  govern- 
ment of  Austria-Hungary.  It  was  as  though  the  throbbing 
of  our  people's  heart  would  stop  for  a  moment  and  then 
everyone  went  straight  to  his  daily  work  as  usual.  Our  lead- 
ing Hungarian  dailies  became  ardently  loyal  Americans. 
They  flew  into  a  passion  about  the  Hungarian  king,  decided 
this  country  acted  rightly,  and  said  that  it  is  our  duty  to  buy 
Liberty  Bonds  and  War  Savings  Stamps.  They  gave  plenty 
of  free  space  to  the  appeals  of  the  government,  and  ^\Tote 
favorable  comments  on  them.  They  joined  in  calling  to  life 
the  Hungarian -American  Loyalty  League,  though  secretly  ap- 
plauding if  tliere  were  insurrections  against  this  League,  as  in 
Chicago.  They  did  not  fail  to  support  the  loyalty  demon- 
strations, published  their  resolutions,  and  did  all  this  in  the 
same  pathetic  style  as  when  some  newspaper  man  writes 
about  the  usefulness  and  pleasantness  of  raising  Yorkshire 
sows;  or,  when  tliey  had  some  warnings  to  deliver,  they  did 
it  with  the  same  enthusiasm  with  which  the  American  papers 
warn  their  readers  to  arm  themselves  with  umbrellas  if  the 
weather  man  predicts  a  rainy  day.  This  sudden  change  was 
incomprehensible  to  their  readers,  the  American  Hungarians. 
The  wise  men  of  our  societies  put  their  heads  together  and 
waited,  waited  patiently  for  sincere  explanations.  These 
explanations  never  came,  and  so  all  joined  in  the  not  very 
complimentary  exclamations:  "Poor  papers,  what  shall  they 
do,  how  can  they  write  differently?  They  are  forbidden 
to " 

The  reactions  of  the  cosmopolitan  press  have  been 
grouped  under  the  general  headings:  Old  Hatreds;  The 
New  Nations;  The  Rush  to  Europe;  Mailed  Fist  of 
Austria-Hungary  in  America;    InJBuencing  the  Home 

^  Amerikai  Figyelo  (Hungarian!,  Chicago. 
1^5 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Country;   Factions  Behind  the  Solid  Front;   Editorial 
Vicissitudes;   Americanization:  Outside  and  Inside. 


OLD   HATREDS 

There  were  always  factions  inside  the  immigrant 
groups,  but  the  war  emphasized  and  exaggerated  these 
factions.  Sometimes  this  interest  in  the  home  country 
seemed  not  only  distracting,  but  even  inimical  to  the 
interests  of  the  American  people,  as  the  Post  Office  De- 
partment took  occasion  to  point  out  to  Frank  Zotti. 

...  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  discus- 
sion by  foreign-language  newspapers  of  the  factional  differ- 
ences in  their  own  nationalities  with  respect  to  war  incidents 
and  policies  at  home  and  abroad  has  frequently  caused  in- 
ternational complications  toward  this  government  during  the 
present  war,  and  permits  are  not  being  granted  to  publica- 
tions which  indulge  in  such  practices.  .  .  .  ^ 

And  for  Ukrainian  affairs  we  do  not  need  either  Czech  or 
Serbian  chauvinists,  as  they  associated  with  the  Czar  officials 
as  he  tortured  our  nation  in  Ukraine,  and  as  they  associated 
with  Polish  nobility  in  Austrian  parliament  when  she  tor- 
tured our  nation  in  Galicia  ...  so  we  can  do  without  those 
"Slav  patriots"  even  now,  when  the  revolution  opened  for 
the  Ukrainian  nation  the  way  to  freedom. 

We  do  not  need  association  with  the  (Slav)  pharisees,  and 
we  do  not  want  anything  in  common  with  those  chauvinists. 

The  Ukrainian  nation  carried  on  her  shoulders  the  "Slav 
favor"  for  five  hundred  years,  so  leave  her  alone,  you  new- 
fashioned  Slav  gentlemen,  to  forget  for  a  while  the  Slav  "re- 
lationship." In  the  meantime,  to  the  Ukrainians  will  suffice 
the  Ukrainian  relationships. 

But  no  Ukrainian  will  go  to  fight  for  the  annexation  plans 
of  the  Czechs  or  Serbs.^ 


1 W.  H.  Lamar,  Solicitor-General.    Letter  to  the  publisher  of  the 
Narodni  List,  New  York  City,  December  17,  1917. 
2  Svoboda  (Ukrainian),  Jersey  City,  August  13,  1918. 
196 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS  AND  THE  WAR 

Three  inches  of  a  knife  blade  in  the  back,  or  a  couple  of 
bullets  in  the  chest,  should  be  the  best  that  could  be  wished 
to  this  traitor  [the  editor  of  II  Corriere  Tirolese,  supposedly  a 
pro-Austrian  paperj  ....  In  this  case,  he  who  believes  in  the 
inviolability  of  life  would  approve  the  deed,  saying,  "blessed 
that  hand!"  1 


THE   NEW   NATIONS 

Enthusiasm  for  the  new  nations  created  by  the  war 
took  various  forms.  Some  sent  money  to  help  the  cause 
abroad.  Others  organized  in  this  country  to  influence 
public  opinion. 

Poland  is  dragging  herself  out  of  a  faint,  a  resurrection, 
into  a  new,  buoyant  life.  She  is  regaining  her  lost  honor,  and 
is  commanding  respect  of  friend  and  foe. 

Therefore,  let  us  with  this  New  Year  follow  our  brothers 
in  the  Fatherland.  We  shall  be  worthy  of  entering  the 
Promised  Land  when,  through  our  own  will  and  efforts,  we 
will  lift  ourselves  up  and  destroy  evil  and  corruption. - 

Dear  Mr.  Geringer, — With  a  wet  eye  I  am  reading  the 
news  about  our  new  Czechoslovak  flag,  and  in  my  mind  I  am 
sending  a  kiss  on  our  sacred  flag. 

You  all  are  happy  who  can  take  part  in  the  moments  of 
the  celebration.  We,  who  are  far  from  those  places,  feel  the 
same  when  readiig  that  news  and  the  letters  of  our  brave 
boj's;  and  always  some  unknown  power  stops  the  breath  and 
heart,  and  our  eyes  become  wet.  We  wish  that  the  boys 
knew  that  our  thoughts  are  always  with  them.  I  do  not 
know  if  we  could  find  a  single  Bohemian  who  would  close 
his  heart  and  hand  to  the  demand  which  he  himself  must 
set,  to  help  with  everything  that  he  can. 

You  rich  people,  open  your  pockets  and  help;  help  when 
it  is  necessary,  so  that  you  be  not  ashamed  before  yourselves. 
I  am  sending  my  whole  week's  wages,  $5.00,  and  let  $2.00  be 

1  Follia  di  New  York  (Italian),  New  York  City,  January  29,  1918. 
*  Wici  (Polish),  Chicago. 

197 


TIIE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

for  the  National  Alliance  and  $3.00  for  our  heroes  who  give 
their  lives  for  us  eheap  skates  along  with  their  blood.  Shame 
for  us  who  hold  the  cU)llar  more  than  life.  Hearty  regards 
and  Zdar  [success]  to  our  Czechoslovak  people.' 

On  November  1,  1913,  a  little  infant  was  bom  among  the 
Hindu  residents  of  America  and  Canada.  It  was  named 
The  Gadar,  or  the  Hindustan  Gadar.  .  .  . 

This  little  paper  is  truly  the  young  hopeful,  not  onlj'  of 
the  Hindu  Independent  of  Revolutionary  patriots,  but  of  all 
India.  It  is  not  only  in  India,  but  the  world  over,  that  the 
Gadar  assumes  a  tangible  shape,  for  the  Gadar  simply  means 
the  spirit  of  Liberation.  The  Gadar  reaches  out  its  succoring 
arms  to  the  oppressed  and  the  injured  in  every  corner  of  the 
globe,  wherever  slavery,  ignorance,  poverty,  oppression,  or 
cowardice  has  secured  a  footing.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  Yugantar,  the  youngest  brother  of  the  Gadar,  born  in 
India,  betook  itself  from  there,  in  order  to  acquire  new  knowl- 
edge, to  far-away  countries.  The  British  government  tried 
hard  to  keep  track  of  it  in  order  to  strangle  its  infant  life. 
But  the  infant  still  lived,  and,  in  fact,  appeared  a  sturdy 
youth  just  when  and  where  the  flames  of  persecution  were 
raging  most  fiercely.    Greeting  and  welcome  to  it. 

And  now  we  give  to  our  dear  readers  another  good  news; 
that  another  tiger-child  was  born  at  the  Gadar  party's  head- 
quarters. It  lisps  in  the  American  tongue,  and  is  trying  to 
learn  American  manners  all  around,  for  it  has  assumed  the 
task  of  clearing  up  the  misunderstandings  regarding  India 
that  prevail  among  the  generous  and  liberty-loving  people  of 
the  United  States.  .  .  .  The  first  issue  will  appear  in  October, 
1917,  and  it  has  been  christened  Young  India  (Young  Hin- 
dustan). .  .  . 

...  A  glance  at  the  review  of  events  given  above  shows 
that  the  strength  of  Germany  still  weighs  heavily,  and  that 
the  three-quarters  of  the  world  that  is  arrayed  against  Ger- 
many has  yet  to  turn  the  scales  in  its  favor.  Of  course,  no 
power  can  always  escape  defeat.    It  was  ordained  that  Ger- 


*  Baltimorske  Listy  (Czechoslovak),  Baltimore,  August  IS,  1918. 
198 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS  AND  THE  WAR 

many  should  prove  the  scourge  to  bring  down  a  little  the  pride 
of  the  proud  British,  who  always  boasted  of  being  the  empire 
on  which  the  sun  never  sets.* 


THE   RUSH   TO   EUROPE 

Some  patriots  sought  to  return  to  Europe  to  take 
actual  part  in  the  struggle. 

The  false  passports  which  these  Germans  used  to  mislead 
the  close  watch  of  John  Bull  were  nothing  else  than  passports 
of  honor.  It  was  an  energetic  inspiration  of  real  men,  of  true 
souls.  Can  a  person  suffer  more  dreadfully  than  to  worry, 
to  know,  and  to  feel  that  all  of  his  kin  are  bleeding? 

All  tiiese  millions,  with  whom  he  feels  at  one  in  his  desire 
for  the  only  piece  of  land,  are  fighting,  and  it  is  only  he  who 
trembles  many  hundreds  of  miles  away.  .  .  .  He  would  rim, 
he  would  rush,  but  he  cannot.  He  is  not  allowed  to  go  be- 
cause of  legal  formalities  which  are  cold  and  apathetic  and 
force  him  to  remain  inactive.* 

Mr.  President, — In  view  of  the  fact  that  you,  in  the  most 
critical  moment  of  the  Russian  working-class  republic,  un- 
hesitatingly raised  your  powerful  voice  in  its  support;  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  you  have  again  in  your  speech  in  New 
York  stated  your  sympathetic  intention  to  stand  by  the  Rus- 
sian Soviet  republic  as  well  as  with  the  French  in  this  trying 
moment,  when  powerful  interests  are  willing  to  offer  Russia 
to  the  Germans;  we,  the  Russian  Red  Guard  of  Chicago,  are 
confident  that  you  will  have  sympathy  with  us  in  Russia's 
cause  and  will  uphold  its  freedom  against  its  formidable 
enemy — German  militarism — and  will,  therefore,  let  us  estab- 
lish regular  communications  with  the  Soviet  government  in 
Moscow,  and  be  allowed  to  recruit  volunteers  among  our 
people  in  America,  and  be  given  free  passage  to  Russia  in 
order  to  do  our  share  in  freeing  the  world  from  the  spector 

'  Hindustani  Ghdar  (Hindu),  San  Francisco,  September  30,  1917. 
2  Amerikai  Magyar  Nepszava  (Hungarian),  New  York  City. 
199 


THE  BUMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

of  militarism.    An  answer  will  be  a  great  favor  to  us  and  the 

cause  we  represent. 

J.  Semeshko,  Chairman, 
I.  Gradon,  Secretary.^ 


Who  May  Become  a  Citizen  of  the  Czechoslovak  Republic? 

Washington,  D.  C. — The  secretary  of  the  Czechoslovak 
Legation  in  Washington,  D.  C,  issued  the  following  bulletin: 
By  an  agreement  entered  into  with  the  United  States  govern- 
ment, the  Czechoslovak  Legation  has  been  authorized  to 
issue  naturalization  papers  of  the  Czechoslovak  Republic  for 
all  Austro-Hungarian  subjects  of  Czechoslovak  descent. 
Therefore,  those  countrymen  who  desire  to  become  citizens  of 
the  Czechoslovak  Republic,  and  as  such  enjoy  the  rights  and 
perform  the  duties  of  a  Czechoslovak  citizen,  should  make 
an  application  for  a  naturalization  certificate  at  the  general 
headquarters  of  the  Slovak  League,  524  Fourth  Avenue, 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  or  the  Czech  National  Alliance, 
2734  West  Twenty-sixth  Street,  Chicago,  Illinois.^ 


MAILED    FIST    OF   AUSTRIA-HUNGARY   IN    AMERICA 

The  Central  powers  sought  to  control  their  subjects  in 
America,  and  even  those  immigrants  who  had  become 
American  citizens.  Austria-Hungary  was  particularly 
active  in  warning  natives  of  her  revolting  dependencies 
not  to  take  part  against  her. 

The  Imperial  Embassy,  by  higher  order,  notifies  all  the  sub- 
jects of  the  Austro-Hungarian  monarchy  and  the  tributary 
states  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  that  in  case  they  are 
employed  in  factories  where  ammunitions  and  arms  are  made 
for  the  enemies  of  our  country,  they  are  violating  Section  327 
of  the  Austrian  military  law,  committing  a  crime  against  the 

1  Atbalss  (Lettish),  New  York  City. 
*  Spravedlnost  (Bohemian),  Chicago,  December  20,  1918. 
200 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS  AND  THE  WAR 

defense  of  their  native  country,  which  crime,  by  the  above- 
mentioned  law,  is  punishable  with  imprisonment  for  from 
ten  to  twenty  years,  and  under  aggravated  circumstances, 
by  death. 

The  offenders  against  this  law  will  be  prosecuted  after  they 
return  to  their  native  country,  and  will  be  subjected  to  the 
severest  penalties  of  the  law.' 

The  overwhelming  majority  of  the  Rumanians  in  this  coun- 
try are  not  Rumanians  from  Rumania,  but  from  Hungarj'. 
Among  these  the  number  of  those  who  became  citizens  of 
the  United  States  is  very  small,  and  the  majority  of  them  are 
still  citizens  of  Hungary.  If  these  will  listen  to  Doctor 
Lukasciu  and  the  other  members  of  the  mission  to  recruit 
Rumanian  legions,  they  will  be  threatened  by  the  greatest 
danger.  If  the  Hungarian  government  is  aware  that  any  of 
these  are  giving  his  support  to  the  enemies  of  Hungary,  or  if 
he  should  enter  the  Rumanian  legions,  it  will  without  delay 
confiscate  all  the  property,  houses,  real  estate,  and  all  chat- 
tels belonging  to  him  and  his  kin  in  the  old  country.^ 

But,  Croatian  people,  although  you  are  absolutely  free  to 
give  your  sympathies  and  divide  your  money  among  whom- 
ever you  please,  you  must  always  bear  in  mind  the  following: 
if  you  help  the  enemies  of  your  Croatian  country  and  their 
lawful  authorities,  that  is  a  treasonable  act,  and  is  terribly 
punished  in  every  country  in  the  workl,  including  Austria- 
Hungary.  If  the  Entente  should  win  this  war  and  our  Cro- 
atian country  should  be  divided  among  the  Italians  and 
Servians,  the  traitors  would  then  escape  punishment;  but 
about  such  a  victory  there  is  no  use  talking.  Everyone  knows 
how  little  chance  the  Entente  has  of  such  a  victory. 

Therefore,  if  the  Entente  should  lose  the  war,  the  traitors 
would  be  punished.  There  is  no  use  of  thinking  that  the 
Central  powers  (Germany  and  Austria)  will  be  crushed,  and 
that  the  Servians  and  Italians  will  divide  among  themselves 

^  Radnicka  Obrana  (Croatian),  Duluth,  November  10.  1916. 
*  Szabadsag  (Hungarian),  Cleveland,  November  20,  1917. 
201 


TIIE  IMIVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

the  Croatian  lands;  but  .  .  .  they  will  remain  in  the  mon- 
archy. ^ 

INFLUENCING   THE   HOME   COUNTRY 

On  the  other  hand,  the  immigrants  in  some  cases  tried 
to  force  their  advice  upon  the  home  country. 

We  have  here  among  the  immigrants  a  good-sized  group  of 
our  political  "great  men,"  who  are  very  much  puffed  up  and 
very  pugnacious,  and  as  a  result  thereof  very  ridiculous.  All 
this,  however,  would  be  harmless,  and  we  would  not  bother 
about  them  if,  unfortunately,  it  were  not  a  fact  that  their 
pseudopolitical  activity  diverges  from  the  interests  of  the 
"old  country,"  our  mother  country. 

These  are  the  same  people  who  are  eternally  suffering  from 
megalomania,  and  who  are  on  the  one  hand  unwilling  to 
recognize  the  world-leadership  of  America  in  this  war,  and  on 
the  other  hand  are  striving  to  impose  upon  Poland  their 
political  leadership  and  to  rule  Poland  from  outside  Polish 
territory. 

These  are  the  same  people  who  like  to  surround  themselves 
with  flunkeys:  flunkeys  who  are  for  the  most  part  still  very 
"green"  among  us,  and  who  have  very  poor  and  superficial 
notions  as  to  conditions  prevailing  among  us.  They  all  fight 
against  windmills,  and  they  all  think  they  are  Poles  and 
famous  men,  and  that  they  alone  are  the  only  ones  called 
upon  to  save  Poland.^ 

FACTIONS  BEHIND   THE   SOLID   FRONT 

The  immigrants  frequently  carried  their  political  dif- 
ferences into  their  support  of  the  home  country,  and 
seemed  to  be  fighting  one  another  as  hard  as,  or  harder 
than,  they  resisted  the  enemy. 

K.  O.  N.  (Committee  of  National  Defense)  showed  itself 
on  this  convention  more  than  on  previous  meetings  what  it 
really  is  .  .  .  the  organized  left  of  the  Polish  immigration. 

1  Narodni  List  (Croatian),  New  York  City,  May  24,  1916. 
^  Telegram  Codzicnny  (Polish),  New  York  City. 
202 


THE  COSMOPOLIT.\N  PRESS  AND  THE  WAR 

After  a  short  period,  in  which  it  seemed  that  the  thought 
of  PoHsh  independence  would  be  able  to  unite  all  Polish  im- 
migrants into  one  single  Polish  independence  organization 
.  .  .  the  Committee  of  National  Defense  ...  the  natural 
division  had  to  come.  The  progressive  element  in  the  com- 
munity, that  was  for  reaction,  went  the  other  way;  or, 
rather,  remained  in  the  ranks  of  the  Polish  National  Alliance, 
the  progressive  organization  that  they  themselves  had 
created.! 

Paderewski,  who  has  had  little  success  in  Europe  as  com- 
poser of  the  opera  "Manru,"  began  a  happier  role  yesterday 
as  hero  of  a  comic  operetta.  .  .  .  Paderewski  spoke  for  Poland, 
although  that  country  has  announced  through  all  official  and 
semiofficial  organs  that  Paderewski  has  no  mandate  from 
Poland  at  all.  At  the  last  INlr.  Helenski .  .  .  who  was  appointed 
as  the  representative  of  American  Poles  at  a  secret  meeting 
composed  of  fifteen  self-named  representatives  of  Polish  in- 
surance societies  who  were  neither  requested  nor  entitled  to 
represent  anybody  .  .  .  Mr.  Helenski  spoke  and  laid  at  the 
feet  of  the  master  a  tribute  from  the  four  million  Poles  in 
America.^ 

We  have  followed  Pilsudski's  directions.  We  had  in  our 
midst  Alexander  Dembski,  a  trusted  and  tried  friend  of 
Joseph  Pilsudski,  acting  as  our  emissary.  Alexander  Demb- 
ski established  direct  connections  between  the  Polish  National 
Defense  Committee  and  Pilsudski. 

Our  policy  was  neither  pro-German,  nor  pro-Austrian,  nor 
pro-Russian,  nor  pro-Ally.  Our  policy  was  purely  and  solely 
a  Polish  policy.  We  hold  that  a  war  on  all  three  of  our  op- 
pressors at  once  was  impossible. 

(The  Central  Polish  National  Defense  Committee  to  the 
Poles  in  the  United  States.)  ^ 

Here  is  a  bunch  of  facts  from  recent  days :  In  Philadelphia 
a  bedbug  in  a  cassock  makes  a  false  report,  that  upon  the 

»  Wici  (Polish),  Chicago,  May  14,  1918. 

*  Dzicnnik  Ludouy  (Polish  Socialist),  Chicago,  March  4,  1918. 
'  Wici  (Polish),  Chicago. 
14  203 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

handbills  of  K.  O.  N.  a  likeness  of  Hindenburg  is  put  at  the 
side  of  the  portrait  of  I'resident  Wilson.  The  proceedings 
before  an  honest  American  judge  show  that  the  alleged  Hin- 
denburg was  Joseph  Pilsudski,  Chief  of  Polish  people,  impris- 
oned by  the  Germans  in  jMagdenburg.  And  the  judge,  by 
throwing  out  the  case,  expresses  his  contempt  and  amazement 
at  such  baseness. 

In  Camden,  New  Jersey,  eighteen  policemen,  led  by  a  lieu- 
tenant, appear  at  a  mass  meeting  called  to  protest  against 
the  separation  by  the  Germans  of  the  Chelm  territory  from 
Poland.  They  came  there  invited  by  Polish  vermin,  who 
falsely  mformed  the  local  police  that  at  the  mass 
meeting  the  members  of  K.  O.  N.  would  preach  pro- 
Germanism  and  incite  rebellion  against  the  American  govern- 
ment. The  police  disgustedly  order  the  denunciators  to  keep 
the  peace. 

Everywhere  ...  in  Maspeth,  Long  Island,  in  Harrison,  New 
Jersey,  in  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  in  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
Northampton,  Massachusetts,  and  in  many  other  American 
cities,  including  New  York  and  Chicago  .  .  .  Polish  parasites 
intercept  American  authorities  from  the  policemen  to  the 
Secretary  of  State,  and  throw  false  calumnies  against  the 
Poles.  "Catch,  arrest,  the  members  of  K.  O.  N.,  for  they  are 
German  spies,  enemies  of  America,  pacifists,  I.  W.  W.'s, 
terrors  of  the  universe,  cosmic  dangers."  i 

According  to  the  Marriage  News  ^  those  "Finnish  Junkers," 
Ignatius,  Reuter,  and  Valkeap,  are  not  wasting  Finnish  money 
when  they  are  not  establishing  offices.  They  live  most 
humbly  in  New  York's  finest  hotels,  which  in  my  opinion 
cost  more  for  one  day  than  Santtu's  office  for  a  whole  month. 
The  Marriage  Neios  would  hardly  consider  those  Junkers  as 
wasting  even  if  as  three  comrades  they  started  to  slowly  use 
the  fund  of  fourteen  and  a  half  millions  which  is  here  and 
belongs  to  the  Finnish  state. 

However,  it  wasn't  nerve  they  lacked,  but  opportunity, 
because  Santtu  Nuorteva  took  a  lawyer  .  .  .  even  a  Jewish 

1  Wici  (Polish),  Chicago,  March  26,  1918. 
*  New  Yorkin  Naima  Uutiset. 

204 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS  AND  THE  WAR 

one  ...  for  his  aid,  who  put  that  "nice  sum"  behind  locks  so 
that  it  will  not  be  gotten  out  of  these  very  easily.^ 


Four  Scoundrels! 

Grskovich,  Biankini,  Marohnich  &  Co.  in  a  New  Graft 
Through  Which  They  Hope  to  Clean  Up  $100,000 

We  are  to-day  publishing  the  photographs  of  the  quartette 
which  has  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  bleed  and  pilfer  the 
pockets  of  the  hard-working  Croatian  laborers  throughout 
the  United  States,  using  as  a  weapon  the  declaration  of  war 
against  Austria-Hungary. 

The  master  mind  in  this  scheme  of  national  scope  to  make 
every  Croatian  pay  protection  where  none  is  needed  is  the 
well-known  scoundrel,  Don  Niko  Grskovich.  Ever  since  he 
landed  in  this  country,  after  having  committed  a  crime  on 
the  other  side,  his  mind  has  been  occupied  mostly  in  devising 
schemes  to  get  money  under  false  pretenses.  We  find  him, 
in  1903,  with  Sirovatka,  trying  to  organize  a  league  in  New 
York  for  the  purpose  of  filling  his  empty  pockets.  Briefly, 
the  consequence  was  that  Sirovatka  had  to  run  away  from 
this  country,  and  Grskovich  repaired  to  Chicago,  where  he 
started  to  publish  a  Croatian  newspaper  known  as  a  black- 
mailing sheet. 

In  1912,  this  moral  wretch,  together  with  the  ex-pickpocket 

from  New  York,  ( ),  organized  the  Croatian 

League  on  paper  in  Kansas,  and  with  the  assistance  of  Joseph 
Marohnich,  president  of  the  National  Croatian  Society,  they 
have  succeeded  in  collecting  $10,000  or  thereabouts.  Could 
Don  Niko  Grskovich  tell  us  what  became  of  the  money?  All 
we  know  is  that  he  used  part  of  the  money  to  buy  the  Hrvatski 
Svijet,  the  name  of  which  he  has  now  changed  to  Jugoslovenski 
Svijd,  and  would  change  the  same  to  the  Turkish  Svijet  for  a 
remuneration.^ 


^  Lapatossu  (Finnish),  Superior,  Wisconsin,  May  1,  1918. 
2  Narodni  List  (Croatian),  New  York  City,  Leaflet,  January  20,' 
1918. 

205 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Having  touched  upon  the  press,  it  will  not  be  out  of  the  way 
to  recall  the  recent  display  of  "village  chivalry"  shown  by 
the  gentlemen  from  the  Dziennik  Zwiazkmoy .  A  controversy 
is  being  carried  on  by  those  gentlemen  for  the  "honor  of  a 
Polish  woman"  against  Mrs.  Laudyn  Chrzanowska,  who 
attacked  recruits  of  the  Polish  army  for  assaulting  several 
women  at  one  of  the  public  meetings  in  Chicago.  .  .  .  Mrs. 
Chrzanowska  is  editor  of  Glos  Polek,  an  official  organ  of  the 
National  Alliance  of  Polish  Women. 

The  Dziennik  Ziciazkowy  not  only  justifies  inflicting  pun- 
ishment on  its  political  opponents,  even  though  they  be 
women,  but  insinuates  that  Mrs.  Laudyn  Chrzanowska,  by 
her  imfortunate  protection,  harms  the  honor  of  women. 
The  above  newspaper  does  not  hesitate  to  direct  insinuations 
and  epithets  at  its  opponent,  but  also  makes  light  remarks 
against  the  Alliance  of  Polish  Women  .  .  .  that  for  the  good  of 
the  organization  it  would  be  advantageous  to  "pension"  the 
editor  of  Glos  Polek. 

In  other  words,  "cavalleria  rusticana,"  as  promulgated  by 
the  Dziennik  Zwiazkowy,  is  a  type  of  newspaper  culture  and 
ethics  created  in  editorial  sanctums.  It  is  a  flower  of  their 
social  growth  which  should  be  preserved  in  an  album  of  Polish 
literature  developed  by  these  knights  of  the  pen.  Not  with- 
out cause  has  some  one  named  them  "scribblers."  That  they 
are.' 

WTiat  the  Polish-American  press,  led  by  all  sorts  of  com- 
mittees, really  is,  can  easily  be  seen  by  reading  those  dirty, 
useless  papers.  They  swear,  ridicule,  insinuate,  throw  calum- 
nies and  slander  in  one's  face;  they  lie  .  .  .  that  is  all  the  poor 
reader  gets  every  day.  But  note  the  solidarity  of  the  scoun- 
drels! If  one  inserts  some  hideous  swinery,  it  is  at  once  re- 
printed by  his  brother  scoundrels  in  some  other  paper,  even 
if  this  swinery  is  impossible,  or  if  it  comes  from  a  source  whose 
poisonous  odor  can  be  detected  from  a  great  distance.  In  a 
rag,  ironically  called  the  Polish  Flag,  in  Bay  City,  Michigan, 

lived  recently  a  certain   ( ),  a  degenerate  fool,  a 

notorious  drunkard,  an  immoral  individual,  a  rascal  and 
scoundrel  of  the  very  worst  type,  a  person  impossible  in  any 

1  Ameryka-Echo  (Polish),  Toledo,  November  22,  1917. 
206 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS  AND  THE  WAR 

community.  He  has  been  hounded  from  place  to  place  like 
a  leper.  But  that  does  not  hinder  the  pro-Russian  papers, 
including  the  Sokol  of  Pittsburgh,  from  reprinting  his  silly, 
senseless  compositions,  which  prove  only  the  degeneration  of 
this  miserable  renegade.' 

EDITORIAL  VICISSITUDES 

In  trying  to  write  what  would  please  their  readers,  and 
at  the  same  time  avoid  offending  the  United  States 
government,  the  editors  often  had  to  steer  a  tortuous 
course,  making  sudden  shifts  and  tacks. 

What  the  Editor  Wrote  About  Hungary 

Central  Powers  Period. 

[January  16,  1917]:  If  German  militarism  were  destroyed 
to-day,  it  should  be  resurrected  to-morrow  that  it  might  save 
civilization.* 

Period  of  Wavering. 

[April  G,  1917] :  The  American  Hungarians,  singing  the  ever- 
stirring  American  national  hymn,  the  "Star  Spangled  Ban- 
ner," with  a  sigh  in  their  hearts  for  the  country  of  a  thousand 
years,  will  say  inwardly,  "God  save  the  Himgarians."  ^ 

American  Period. 

[October  9,1918]:  For  several  centuries  the  Austrian  double- 
eagle  has  dug  his  talons  deeply  into  the  entrails  of  the  Hun- 
garian national  body.  In  Hungary  it  was  the  Austrian  poli- 
ticians who  steadily,  remorselessly,  agitated  among  the  vari- 
ous nationalities  peacefully  living  among  their  brethren  of 
the  Hungarian  race  and  enjoying  all  their  political  liberties. 
Only  thus  could  Austria  block  the  way  of  Hungary's  national 
development.  Every  Hungarian  is  fully  aware  of  the  fact 
that  neither  Germany  nor  Austria  was  ever  a  well-wisher  of 

*  Wiadomosci  Codzienne  (Polish),  Cleveland,  August  24,  1917. 

*  Amerikai  Magyar  Nepszava  (Hungarian),  New  York  City. 
^  Ibid. 

207 


THE  i:\IMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Hungary.  It  was  only  by  reason  of  an  unfortunate  geo- 
graphical condition  that  Hungary  was  forced  into  the  war. 
The  only  peril  threatening  Hungary  loomed  up  from  Russia. 
Yet  even  that  peril  could  have  been  avoided  if  Hungary  had 
been  an  independent  state.' 


What  the  Editor  Wrote  About  America 

Central  Powers  Period. 

[February  24, 1917] :  "Your  Excellency's  reception  of  us  to- 
day is  a  proof  that  you  believe  in  our  loyalty,"  said  the  chair- 
man of  the  delegation  of  American  citizens  of  Hungarian 
birth,  which  was  presenting  to  President  Wilson  the  resolu- 
tion adopted  at  a  mass  meeting  held  January  30,  1916.  The 
President  replied,  "You  have  thanked  me  for  receiving  you; 
I  do  not  deserve  any  thanks." 

Of  course,  the  President  does  not  deserve  any  thanks  for 
the  reception  accorded  us  as  American  citizens.  If  the  pur- 
pose of  the  gentlemen  who  headed  this  delegation  was  to 
whitewash  President  Wilson's  administration,  it  will  certainly 
result  in  utter  failure. 

Yes,  we  are  loyal  to  our  country  and  to  the  flag.  We  are 
ever  ready  to  sacrifice  our  lives  in  defense  of  our  rights  .  .  . 
but  we  would  not  be  worthy  of  our  citizenship  if  we  would 
for  political  reasons  hide  under  the  mantle  of  hypocrisy  and 
do  homage  against  our  own  conscience  to  the  Chief  Executive 
of  this  nation.^ 

Period  of  W^avering. 

[Augustus,  1917]:  For  a  long  time  we  didn't  know  why  Lord 
NorthcliflFe  transferred  the  capital  of  his  kingdom  of  hatred 
and  instigation  from  London  to  the  United  States.  Now  we 
know  why:  It  is  to  work  against  the  foreign  press  in  this 
country  and  against  peace.  The  sad  thing  is  that  some  day 
the  war  will  end  and  then  the  German- Americans  as  well  as 
the  other  foreigners  will  be  nice  men  again,  for  they  will  be 

'  Amerikai  Magyar  Nepszava  (Hungarian),  New  York  City. 
208 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS  AND  THE  WAR 

greatly  needed.     But  destroyed  cities  can  be  rebuilt;    de- 
stroyed love,  never.* 

American  Period. 

[September  14,  1918]:  Registration  is  over.  The  Austro- 
Hungarians,  too,  have  registered,  not  merely  because  it  was 
made  their  duty  by  law,  but  because  they  realized  that  if 
they  help  their  adopted  country — the  United  States — they 
also  serve  the  land  of  their  birth.  We  have  explained  a  hun- 
dred times  ...  as  have  the  partners  of  our  papers,  such  un- 
selfish and  prominent  leaders  of  the  Austro-Hungarians  as 
Alexander  Konta  and  Arpad  Gusta.  .  .  that  in  this  great  war 
America  is  also  fighting  Hungary's  war  for  independence. 
The  aim  of  the  United  States  is  the  liberation  of  oppressed 
nations,  and  truly  Hungary  is  one  of  the  most  oppressed. ^^ 

What  His  Readers  Wrote 

Mr.  Berko:  Are  you  going  to  sell  Liberty  Bonds  because 
you  cannot  make  a  living  from  your  papers? 

My  dear  Editor:  It  seems  to  us  Bridgeport  Magyars  that 
they  will  have  to  send  you  to  an  insane  asylum,  but  before 
you  get  there  I  would  like  to  shoot  you  in  the  head  like  a  dog, 
because  you  are  nothing  but  a  thief  and  a  traitor. 

When  the  war  will  be  ended,  us  Magyars  won't  be  afraid  to 
go  home  to  the  old  country.  We  will  always  have  our  respect. 
But  you  would  be  afraid  to  go,  because  the  King  and  the 
Kaiser  would  shoot  you  in  the  head.  It  would  serve  you  right, 
you  traitor. 

We  are  not  going  to  subscribe  to  your  paper  because  it  is 
a  paper  that  insults  our  kingdom  and  country,  as  you  yourself 
do.    You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  the  way  you  insult  Germany. 

If  nine  Americas  should  go  against  them  (the  Germans), 
they  would  not  be  afraid,  but  you,  with  your  donkey  head, 
jumping  around  to  be  in  good  with  this  government,  you  are 
a  big  bandit,  thief,  and  traitor.  If  I  see  you  on  the  street 
I  would  shoot  you  like  a  dog. 

In  the  year  of  1914,  when  Russia  started  the  big  drive,  the 

^  Amerikai  Magyar  Nepszava  (Hungarian),  New  York  City. 
2  Ibid. 

209 


THE  DOIIGRiVNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Russians  were  coming  through  like  a  mowing  machine  mow- 
ing grass,  and  fought  their  way  through  the  Carpathian 
Mountains  into  Saros  Megre.  They  would  have  swept 
Austria-Hungary  in  a  few  weeks.  That  was  when  they  were 
alarmed  at  Vienna  and  Bridgeport.  But  Tissa  Pista  hurried 
to  the  German  government  and  asked  for  protection  of 
Austria-Hungary  from  the  big  Russian  roller.  Then  large 
German  forces  were  hurried  to  the  front  and  the  big  roller 
was  stopped.  Except  for  them  Austria-Hungary  would  have 
been  swept  and  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Russians ;  and  yet 
you  are  insulting  our  protector. 

You  are  a  dreadful  thief;  I  would  shoot  you  if  I  saw  j-ou 
on  the  street.  I  wouldn't  care  if  I  would  be  hanged  for  it; 
the  world  would  know  I  shot  a  traitor.  What  are  you  making 
fools  out  of  the  Magyars  for,  trying  to  make  them  buy  Liberty 
Bonds?  Why  don't  you  buy  yourself  or  let  others  buy  who 
want  to,  you  Gypsy  liar? 

About  a  year  ago,  when  America  entered  the  war,  you  was 
against  it.  Of  course,  now  you  get  a  little  graft,  and  your 
heart  weakened,  so  they  wouldn't  stop  you  from  publishing 
your  paper.  You  are  a  traitor  to  your  own  country  and 
alliance.  Germany  helped  us  and  we  all  know  it.  It's  a  won- 
der that  you  are  not  shot  for  a  traitor  like  you  would  deserve. 

You  ought  to  publish  this  in  your  paper  and  you  would  sell 
more.  But  now  you  will  not  be  allowed  to  print  it.  You 
should  not  be  a  traitor.  You  couldn't  even  hold  King  Charles's 
or  the  Kaiser's  shirt  in  your  hands  .  .  .  not  that  us  Magyars 
and  you  could  harm  them.  .  .  .  From  now  on  I  will  follow 
your  paper,  and  if  you  don't  stop  publishing  such  things  I 
will  remedy  your  troubles. 

Bridgeport's  Most  Smartest  Kjvowing  Somebody 

K.T.E.N.  AXD  D.E.O.Z.l 


AMERICAJSnZATION:    OUTSIDE   AND   INSIDE 

Even  when  peace  came,  some  editors  remained  ingen- 
ious  rather  than  ingenuous. 

^  Letter  received  by  the  owner  of  the  Amerikai  Magyar  Nepszava 
(Hungarian),  New  York  City,  July  15.  1918. 

210 


i 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS  AND  THE  W.Ul 


Editorial  in  English  from  a  Editorial    in    Polish    from 

Polish  daily  paper:  1  the  same  issue. 


Thai  Their  Voice  May  Carry 
Farther 

The  Polish  Daily  Zgoda 
henceforth  will  devote  some 
of  its  columns  to  news  items 
and  editorials  in  the  English 
language. 

The  first  of  these  editorials 
will  appear  in  Tuesday's 
issue. 

We  reach  the  Polish-speak- 
ing people  throughout  this 
land.  Our  editorials  and 
news  items  are  read  with  in- 
terest by  the  big  masses  of 
the  Polish-speaking  people  in 
this  country  and  across  the 
Atlantic.  The  Polish  press, 
here  and  abroad,  quotes  our 
opinion  frequently. 

We  say  this  in  no  other 
sense  than  as  a  statement  of 
fact,  that  our  voice  reaches 
large  masses  of  people  spread 
over  a  vast  territory. 

This  newspaper  is  an  Ameri- 
can institution.  We  preached 
Americanism  —  true,  loyal, 
and  imwavering  American- 
ism, not  only  during  and 
after  the  war,  but  before 
the  war.  It  was  in  the  past, 
and  is  to-day,  our  policy 
to  keep  the  Polish-spxeaking 
people    in    contuiuous    con- 


The  Passing  Moment 

In  our  issue  of  February 
24th,  of  the  Zgoda,  will  ap- 
pear the  first  editorial  article 
printed  in  the  English  lan- 
guage, and  from  now  on  we 
will  regularly  insert  articles 
in  English  on  subjects  inter- 
esting to  us.  In  to-day's 
English  article  we  explain 
to  our  readers,  and  also  to 
Anglo-Americans,  why  the 
Zgoda,  being  an  exclusively 
Polish  newspaper,  will  hence- 
forth devote  some  space  to 
articles  in  English,  which 
space  will  be  enlarged  in  the 
future  accordingly. 

We  stipulate,  saying  this 
openly  because  publicly,  that 
we  are  not  doing  this  out  of 
any  Americanization  motive, 
for  we  resent  forcible  and 
silly  efforts  in  that  direction. 
Our  aim  in  doing  this  is  to 
provide  means  of  self-defense 
to  Polish  emigration,  so  their 
voice  would  be  heard  in 
things  most  vital  to  them, 
and  reach  where  it  should,    i 

America  is  beginning  to  ail 
with  chauvinism,  which  is 
most  detrimental  to  the  na- 
tion and  country. 

As  a  result  of  this  some 


Zgoda  (Polish),  Chicago,  February  £1,  1920. 
211 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


tact  with  America  and  Amer- 
ican institutions.  We  have 
endeavored  at  all  times  to 
lead  along  the  path  to  a  big, 
powerful,  and  prosperous 
America;  to  a  united,  law- 
abiding,  contented,  and  hap- 
py nation. 

We  continue  this  work  and 
in  this  leadership. 

And,  as  we  continue,  our 
work  increases  and  our  task 
grows  bigger.  It  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  make  America,  and 
all  that  concerns  America, 
understood  to  the  people 
whom  we  lead.  We  must 
also  make  these  people,  their 
traditions,  their  past,  and 
their  present,  understood  by 
America.  Nothing  short  of 
mutual  understanding  can 
bring  about  the  results  hoped 
for  by  all  lovers  of  America 
and  Americanism. 

Therein  lies  the  reason  for 
our  decision  to  run  some  of 
our  columns  in  the  English 
language.  We  feel  that 
through  these  columns  our 
voice  will  carry  farther, 
reaching  the  many  millions 
of  people  who  do  not  under- 
stand the  Polish  language. 

It  is  oiu"  idea  that  through 
the  columns  in  the  Polish 
language  we  will  continue  in- 
terpreting all  the  desires  and 
aims  of  America  to  those  of 
our  readers  who  do  not  under- 


Senators  and  Representatives 
have  already  gone  mad  and 
are  submitting  bills  to  Con- 
gress which  the  most  violent 
"Hakatist"  representatives 
in  the  German  parliament 
would  not  dare  to  do.  To 
this  action,  which  tends  to 
destroy  the  Polish  spirit  in 
the  United  States,  we  must 
answer  with  self-defense. 

According  to  the  decision 
of  Zarazd  Centralny  Z.  N.  P. 
(Central  Committee  of  Polish 
National  Alliance),  the  infor- 
mational articles  will  be 
edited  by  jVIt.  J.  W'edda. 

But  this  has  a  wider  scope: 
the  flow  of  Polish  emigration 
from  Europe  in  the  future 
will  cease  almost  entirely; 
therefore,  the  Polish  National 
Alliance  w'ill  be  able  to  de- 
velop on  the  American  soil 
only,  among  the  youth  born 
and  brought  up  in  America, 
the  American  Poles.  So  it 
is  desirable  that  they  early 
become  acquainted  with  the 
object  of  the  Alliance  through 
these  informational  articles, 
also  become  used  to  the 
Zgoda,  and  slowly  become 
acquainted  with  its  Polish 
contents.  It  is  a  very  serious 
undertaking  which  interests 
us  all;  to  "Polonize"  is  the 
reason  why  the  English  sec- 
tion in  the  Zgoda  is  coming 
to  life. 


212 


THE  COSMOPOLITAN  PRESS  AND  THE  WAR 


stand  the  English  language. 
Then,  again,  we  will  present 
in  these  English  columns  to 
those  who  understand  neither 
the  Polish  language  nor  the 
Polish  people,  the  case  of 
those  millions  of  men  and 
women  of  Polish  blood  who 
aided  not  only  willingly  and 
faithfully,  but  lovuigly,  in 
making  the  United  States 
the  greatest  country  in  the 
world;  who  through  their  la- 
bors and  sacrifices  added 
materially  to  the  wealth  and 
strength  of  this  country. 

There  are  a  number  of 
matters,  vital  to  this  coun- 
try, that  these  people — our 
people  and  your  people — 
wish  to  present  in  the  public 
forum.  It  is  our  duty  to  act 
for  them. 

We  will  carry  their  voice 
beyond  the  confines  of  their 
own  ranks. 

We  will  try  to  get  all  of  the 
people  a  little  closer  together. 

Our  columns  in  English 
will  be  edited  by  John  A. 
Wedda,  an  American  news- 
paper man  of  many  years' 
experience. 


213 


As  further  evidence  of  the 
necessity  of  this,  is  an  article 
which  ought  to  stir  the  minds 
of  all  American  Poles,  which 
we  are  printing  to-day  imder 
the  heading  "Polish  Catho- 
lic Blood  on  Sale."  The 
voice  of  our  indignation  and 
protest  should  reach  the 
highest  places,  but  no  matter 
how  we  raise  our  voices  it 
will  be  of  no  use  if  it  is  in 
Polish.  If  we  want  results, 
as  citizens  of  this  country  we 
must  come  out  in  a  language 
which  is  understood  by  every- 
one who  has  been  in  America 
for  some  time — the  language 
of  the  American  people. 

For  these  and  many  other 
reasons,  on  the  eve  of  the 
one  hundred  and  eighty- 
eighth  anniversary  of  the 
great  Washington — the  cre- 
ator and  father  of  this  coun- 
try, which,  according  to  his 
ideals,  was  to  shine  forever 
with  unrestrained  freedom 
and  citizenship,  tolerance, 
language,  and  belief — we  are 
forced  into  a  position  of  self- 
defense  by  those  who  through 
the  example  of  Washington 
ought  to  be  fathers  and  not 
stepfathers  to  all  seeking  the 
protection  of  the  Star  Span- 
gled Banner.  May  this  be- 
come our  shield  and  be  of 
benefit  to  our  adopted  coun-. 
try. 


IX 

THE  CLASS  WAR 

The  radical  press  is  a  serious  and  sober-minded  press. 
Its  object  is  to  make  its  readers  class-conscious. 

The  war  with  Germany  was  not  popular  in  the  radical 
press.  It  had  a  war  of  its  own,  from  which  it  did  not 
wish  to  be  distracted — the  war  between  the  classes. 
For  a  while  the  World  War  tended  to  supersede  the 
class  war  in  interest,  but  with  the  Russian  revolution 
the  radical  press  found  itself  in  possession  of  real  news. 
Many  of  the  American  radicals  felt  that  the  millennium 
was  at  hand.  Only  the  older  and  more  sophisticated 
leaders  pointed  out  that  the  American  situation  had 
not  changed,  that  the  Socialists  in  America  were  few, 
and  that  revolution  was  still  a  long  way  off. 

ESTDICTMENT   OF  CAPITALISM 

Radicalism  starts  with  a  program,  but  it  eventually 
becomes  a  cult.  In  the  ideas  which  it  expresses,  all 
the  wishes  of  life  are  realized.  Those  who  are  willing 
to  suffer  for  these  ideas  constitute  one  of  the  most 
valuable  heritages  of  any  cult.  The  Mooney  case  has 
been  written  up  in  the  radical  press  of  every  country, 
and  Mooney  is  the  foremost  martyr  of  the  radicals. 
Before  the  war  most  of  the  martyrs  of  the  United  States 
were  I,  W.  W.'s,  but  since  the  war  many  of  the  editors 
of  foreign-language  papers  have  joined  the  galaxy. 

The  radicals  are  very  far  removed  from  having  the 
appreciative  attitude  of  the  immigrant  toward  America 
which  is  revealed    in  such  books  as  Mary  Antin's  The 

214 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

Promised  Land  and  Marcus  E.  Ravage's  An  American 
in  the  Making.  Their  criticism  of  America,  as  might  be 
expected,  reaches  its  climax  in  the  anarchist  press. 

The  following  quotations  may  be  regarded  as  charac- 
teristic expressions  of  the  papers  quoted: 

The  Capitalists'  War 

The  capitalists  are  generous  when  it  comes  to  disposing  of 
the  skins  of  the  people.  And  the  young  men  so  chosen  will 
have  nothing  to  say,  no  objection  to  raise,  no  reason  to 
advance.  .  .  . 

Let  the  wretched  poor  invest  their  savings  at  three  and  a 
half  per  cent,  the  poor  devils  who,  injuring  themselves  by 
saving  on  soap  and  shoes,  succeed  by  dint  of  the  utmost 
privations  in  putting  $100  in  the  bank.  The  capitalists  are 
taking  care  not  to  subscribe  to  the  much-heralded  Liberty 
Loan — they  should  call  it,  at  least,  by  its  true  name — a  loan 
of  slavery  and  shame. 

The  workmen  do  not  have  any  p)enDies  to  put  into  this 
bfood  enterprise,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  fortunate 
ones  who  have  a  few  hundred  dollars  laid  aside  will  not  go 
now  to  tlu^ow  them  into  the  abyss  in  order  to  secure  the  title 
of  good  and  patriotic  contributors.  ,  .  .  Already  the  war  is 
being  conducted  with  the  skins  of  the  poor.  See  that  it  is 
not  conducted,  also,  with  the  money  of  the  poor.* 

The  chief  representative  of  the  steel  trust — its  president — 
is  Judge  Gary.  The  chief  owner  of  the  trust  is  J.  P.  Morgan. 
The  main  owners  of  the  copper  mines  are  the  Guggenheimers, 
etc.  Our  readers  may  still  remember  that  the  first  great 
important  "preparedness"  meeting  was  held  at  Judge  Gary's 
home.2 

The  American  nation  did  not  want  the  war,  but  the  same 
bankers  and  manufactxirers  who  had  incited  the  war  fire  in 


^  VEra  Nuova  (Italian-Anarchist),  New  York  City. 
*  Jewish  Daily  Forward  (Yiddish-Socialist),  New  York  City,  Oo- 
tober  12,  1918. 

215 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Europe  dragged  it  into  the  cataclysm.  And  now  it  is  up  to 
the  nation  to  pay  for  the  crimo,  whose  incitera  are  the  Mor- 
gans, Rockefellers,  Garys,  Schwabs,  and  others,  kings  of  the 
industrial  and  financial  trusts  in  America.  Having  started 
the  war  for  their  own  interests,  they  turned  all  their  attention 
to  a  cause  that  not  they,  but  the  suffering  classes,  give  their 
muscles,  nerves,  and  lives  to  maintain.  With  the  co-opera- 
tion of  tlieir  representatives  in  Congress  and  the  government, 
these  patriotic  blackmailers  locked  their  revenues  and  rapa- 
ciously accumulated  money,  and  leave  to  the  sufiFering  classes 
of  people  to  die  and  hunger  "for  the  sake  of  Patria,"  * 

Let  the  fatherland  of  the  Morgans,  the  Rockefellers,  the 
Schwabs,  and  the  Armours  and  the  other  Vanderbilts  carry 
on  their  own  war.^ 

Sins  of  the  Capitalists 

All  over  the  United  States  the  working  class  is  doing  the 
hardest  labor.  They  made  millions  and  millards  of  money, 
and  at  the  same  time  they  are  treated  as  "foreigners"  .  .  . 
*'who  have  not  got  any  right"  to  express  their  mind  about 
vital  problems  of  this  country.  Only  blind  men  are  not  able 
to  see  that  all  the  riches  of  the  rubber  industry  are  made  by 
workmen.^ 

A  capitalist  with  money  is  a  dare-devil;  without  money 
he  is  a  poor  and  pming  creature.  He  cannot  and  he  does  not 
know  how  to  live  a  day  without  large  sums  of  money. 

He  needs  $'^00,000  a  year;  he  is  accustomed  to  dwell  in 
twenty-five  rooms  rented  at  $25,000  a  year;  he  must  have 
eight  or  ten  servants  a  year;  his  clothing  must  be  made  up 
of  the  finest  goods,  come  from  the  best  stores,  and  to  cost  one 
to  three  hundred  dollars. 

The  wife  of  the  capitalist  cannot  well  do  without  seventy- 
five  costumes,  without  jewels  worth  $50,000,  and  she  cannot 
wash  or  dress  without  the  assistance  of  two  servants.     She 


,.^^r    ^  Novy  Mir  (Russian-Bolshevik-Communist),  New  York  City. 
*  Cronica  Suwersiva  (Italian-Anarchist),  Lynn,  Massachusetts. 
'  Radnicka  Straza  (Croatian-Socialist),  Chicago. 
216 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

needs  a  boudoir,  one  reception  room  in  blue,  another  one  in 
pink,  and  still  another  one  with  mirrors.  She  needs  two 
automobiles,  one  for  the  city  and  the  other  one  for  the 
country. 

They  are  used  to  having  an  eight-course  breakfast  served 
by  servants  dressed  in  white,  a  seventeen-coiu'se  dinner 
served  by  two  lackeys  in  full  dress  and  white  silk  gloves,  etc. 

The  Ilevenue  bill  will  certainly  become  law,  and  will  be  a 
blow  to  the  rich;  willy-nilly,  they  will  be  obliged  to  become 
patriotic  and  live  on  $58,000  a  year. 

This  will  be  necessary  for  a  world-democracy  and  for  the 
good  of  the  United  States.* 

The  capitalists,  eager  for  business  profits,  are  directly  to 
blame  for  the  disgraceful  happenings  in  St.  Louis.  [Employ- 
ers importing  negroes  from  the  South  to  work  for  less  than 
the  whites.] 

This  is  the  usual  method  under  the  present  system  of  play- 
ing one  nationality  against  another. 

"To  make  the  world  safe  for  democracy."  .  .  .  Lideed!  We 
are  preparing  democracy  for  the  world.* 

The  New  York  papers  have  printed  an  ad.  of  the  Fort 
Newark  Terminal  shipyards,  requiring  twelve  thousand  men. 
When  the  State  Employment  Office  proposed  to  supply  a 
quarter  of  that  number,  it  was  informed  that  the  company 
needs  no  new  help  at  all,  but  would  like  to  "sift  through"  its 
men  and  replace  them  by  better  and  cheaper  men. 

Similar  accusations  are  raised  against  a  certain  firm  in 
Rochester  and  the  Hog  Island  Shipbuilding  Company,  and 
more  of  them  could  be  cited  by  the  hundreds.^ 

The  capitalists  and  employers  are  working  to  organize  the 
"Loyal  Lumber  and  Loggers'  Union,"  the  purpose  of  it  being 
to  control  the  workmgmen's  movement;  and  it  will  be  useful 
and  profitable  to  employers,  but  not  to  employees. 

Aleetings  are  often  called.    Those  who  refuse  to  join  this 

1  Russk-y  Gobs  (Russian-Bolshevik),  New  York  City,  September 
7,  1918. 

*  Raivaaja  (Finnish-Socialist),  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts. 
'  Dziennik  Ludovyy  (Polish-Socialist),  Chicago,  February  11,  1918. 
217 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

union  are  being  threatened  to  be  thrown  out  of  work.  Im- 
migrants suffer  the  most.  Many  of  them  have  not  only  been 
put  out  of  jobs,  but  cannot  get  any  other  jobs.  They  say 
that  they  are  told  to  go  back  where  they  came  from.' 

The  lumber  workers  of  the  Western  states,  who  were  work- 
ing ten  hours  a  day,  have  started  the  fight  for  an  eight-hour 
working  day,  which  they  had  decided  on  at  their  last 
convention. 

Secretary  of  War  Baker  was  forced  to  acknowledge  the 
righteousness  of  the  demand,  because  lumber  was  badly 
needed,  and  instructed  the  lumber  barons  on  August  11th  to 
comply  with  the  demands  of  the  workers.  But  the  lumber 
barons  paid  no  heed  to  the  Secretary  of  War  and  insisted 
that  the  lumber-jacks  should  work  ten  hours.  From  this  it 
can  be  seen  that  the  lumber  barons  do  not  obey  the  Secretary 
of  War,  but  the  Secretary  of  War  always  obeys  the  lumber 
barons  when  they  want  troops  against  the  workers.^ 

The  Institutions  of  Capitalism 

It  is  impossible  at  the  present  time  to  publish  the  names  of 
those  who  are  personally  responsible  for  the  persecutions. 
It  seems,  though,  in  almost  every  case  where  acts  of  violence 
have  occurred,  that  the  influence  of  the  local  chamber  of 
commerce  was  backing  it  through  their  financial  control  of 
the  locality.  And  there,  where  the  commercial  clubs  were 
closely  in  association  with  the  chaml>er  of  commerce,  the 
suppression  was  by  far  the  more  cruel  than  elsewhere.  .  .  .^ 

To-day  the  courts  of  the  American  government  are  nothing 
else  than  the  executors  of  the  pleasure  or  orders  of  American 
trusts  and  capitalists.  Their  wishes  must  be  obeyed,  other- 
wise they  find  ways  to  make  sure  that  they  are  complied  with, 
for  they  know  how  to  help  themselves.     Have  we  not  had 

^  Keleivis  (Lithuanian-Socialist),  Boston. 

2  Azpari  Miinkas  (Hungarian-I.  W.  W.),  New  York  City. 

3  Vedelem  (Hungarian-I.  W.  W.),  New  York  City.  December  25, 
1917. 

218 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

examples  at  San  Francisco,  Butte,  Danbury,  and  other  places 
to  this  effect? 

What  lesson  should  the  workmen  learn  from  this  state  of 
affairs,  especially  the  progressive  and  organized  workmen? 
Should  they  silently  look  on  while  their  best  leaders  are  being 
destroyed  and  assassinated  by  all  sorts  of  nefarious  ways  and 
means?  After  these  experiences  should  they  still  further 
adhere  timorously  only  to  the  legal  part  of  the  propaganda 
and  con6dently  await  the  time  when  the  law,  which  mostly  is 
respected  by  themselves,  shall  bring  them  justice  and  satis- 
faction, laws  and  government  which  come  from  the  people 
.  .  .  but  only  the  rich  ones  .  .  .  that  they  should  help?  The 
most  conservative  and  most  peace-loving  workman's  blood  is 
boiling  over  to  that  extent  that  "an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a 
tooth  for  a  tooth"  seems  to  be  the  only  appropriate  law  at  the 
disposition  of  the  working  class  for  their  defense  and  the  in- 
stitution of  justice.' 

To  the  church  he  has  trotted  ever  since  he  was  a  small  boy, 
and  has  not  once  been  shaken  in  his  belief,  for  he  has  sure 
knowledge  of  what  is  to  follow  after  life  is  gone.  He  partakes 
of  the  Sacrament  often,  and  with  pleasure  drops  a  quarter 
into  the  contribution  box  so  that  the  wrath  of  God  shall  not 
fall  upon  him.  Every  Sunday  morning  he  also  sends  his 
children  to  Sunday  school  at  the  church,  for  his  most  earnest 
desire  is  that  his  children  will  carefully  save  their  ignorance — 
the  inheritance  which  he  on  leaving  this  world  will  give  them 
as  his  only  inheritance. 

This  is  the  kind  of  an  inheritance  Malakias  Meuhu,  gener- 
ally speaking,  leaves  to  his  followers.  It  is  a  valuable  inherit- 
ance. It  means  much.  It  means  joy,  relish,  laziness,  indul- 
gence, and  life — to  the  trimmers;  sorrow,  trial,  hvmger, 
shackles,  and  death — to  the  working  class.^ 

INDICTMENT    OF   AJSIERICA 

The  radicals  see  America's  faults  very  clearly,  and  judge 
them  in  no  uncertain  terms.    The  radical  is  a  revolu- 


'  Ohrana  (Bohemian-Socialist-Communist),  New  York  City. 
*  Toveri  (Finuish-I.  W.  W.),  Astoria,  Oregon. 
15  219 


THE  IMiVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

tionary  and  an  optimist.  He  sees  things  in  black  and 
white  without  shadows  as  quahfications.  This  is  his 
temperament  as  well  as  his  vocation.  There  are,  how- 
ever, shades  of  radicalism. — Some  are  red  and  some  are 
merely  pink.  These  various  points  of  view  are  to  be 
found  in  the  foreign-language  press. 

The  Government 

Take,  for  instance,  the  famous  book  on  American  Democ- 
racy, by  Ostrogovsky,  in  which  he  treats  of  the  corruption, 
the  "bossism,"  the  crooked  politics  of  the  party  machines, 
and  you  will  realize  that  America  is  still  very  far  from  the 
democratic  ideal.^ 

RogofF's  book  offers  its  readers  much  more  than  they  ex- 
pect to  find  in  it.  .  .  .  Not  only  do  they  get  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  governmental  institutions  .  .  .  but  also  of  Amer- 
ica, her  spirit  and  soul.  It  is  not  necessary  to  read  the  entire 
book  in  order  to  ascertain  that  it  was  written  by  a  Socialist 
who  does  not  believe  that  America  represents  the  last  word  in 
human  progress.  It  is  sufficient  to  read  his  description  of 
America's  so-called  constitution;  of  the  supreme  court,  etc., 
to  be  convinced  that  the  author  has  not  written  the  book 
with  the  sole  purpose  of  teaching  Jews  how  to  answer  ques- 
tions when  applying  for  citizenship  papers.  Moreover,  it  is 
likely  that  if  a  Jew  were  to  answer  questions  m  the  spirit 
which  he  has  vmderstood  Rogoff's  book,  he  would  fail  to 
obtain  his  papers.  ...  At  the  same  time,  you  gather  that  the 
author,  though  realizing  that  many  evils  must  be  abolished 
here,  loves  his  America,  for  he  also  sees  her  bright  sides.  .  .  . 
Here  is  a  passage  treating  the  constitution:  "When  a  central 
government  was  organized  .  .  .  the  rich  and  influential  citizens 
sought  to  draw  up  a  constitution  that  would  give  the  great 
masses  as  little  control  over  the  government  officials  and 
governmental  affairs  as  possible.  They  trembled  for  the 
democratic  spirit.  .  .  .  Many  of  the  originators  of  the  con- 

1  Day  (Yiddish-Liberal),  New  York  City,  November  2,  1916. 
220 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

stitution  were  aristocrats,  and  looked  down  upon  the  masses 
as  uncivilized  men  who  should  be  held  in  check."  ^ 


American  Civilization 

That  American  civilization  is  not  a  trifle  . . .  may  be  proven 
by  the  fact  that  they  are  going  to  civilize  the  Philippines,  the 
terrible  barbarians!  Another  proof:  in  Wilmmgton  nine 
young  men,  accused  of  stealing,  were  whippeJ  publicly,  each 
receiving  twenty  lashes,  until  their  naked  bodies  began  to 
stream  with  blood.  After  this  operation  they  were  tied  to  the 
whipping-post  for  several  hours.  .  .  .  These  men  all  had 
empty  stomachs  and  nothing  to  fill  them  with,  so  they 
took  things  without  asking  them.  .  .  .  The  above  scene 
was  witnessed  by  a  large  crowd,  including  some  women. 
Fine.''    Is  it  not?' 

Hurry  is  everywhere.  Autos  and  trolleys  in  their  haste 
run  over  people  and  kill  them.  .  .  .  People  haven't  got  time 
to  even  grow  up  into  adults,  for  at  five  years  of  age  they  are 
set  to  work  in  factories.  A  marriage  knot  is  tied  at  3  p.m. 
and  at  8  p.m.  the  wife  is  given  a  separation  on  account  of  non- 
support."* 

In  America  thej'  are  gentlemen  who  know  how  to  earn 
money,  either  honestly  or  "smartly." 

America  is  a  dangerous  land  for  young  and  inexperienced 
men.* 

Were  Dewey  an  inventor  or  a  second  Newton,  he  would  be 
honored  by  few  people,  and  one  would  be  regarded  as  insane 
if  he  mentioned  a  victory  tower  for  him  worth  $25,000.  .  .  . 
The  truth  is  that  America's  great  men  die  somewhere  on  the 
fourth  floor,  lonely  and  forsaken.  .  .  .  Whatever  Dewey  might 
not  have  accomplished  in  another  field  he  could  never  be  the 
national  hero  he  is  now.  .  .  .  The  American  nation  celebrates 


'  Freie  Arheiter  Stimme  (Yiddish- Anarchist),  New  York  City,  July 
l5.  1918.  Ubid.,  October  6,  1899. 

'  Lapatossu  (Finnish-I.  W.  W.),  Superior,  Wisconsin,  April  15, 1917. 
*  Ibid.,  Wisconsin,  July  15,  1917. 
221 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

its  own — not  his — victory.  That  he  had  no  part  in  the  vic- 
tory is  immaterial;  that  he  had  the  aid  of  sailors,  marines, 
battleships,  is  of  no  consequence.  He  achieved  success  and  that 
is  America's  fetish.  Were  he  to  lose  in  another  war  he  would 
soon  be  thrown  off  the  idol's  chair  and  discarded  into  the 
dirt.i 

What  America  Makes  of  the  Immigrant 

On  the  surface  it  may  appear  that  the  book  Witte  Arrives 
is  a  eulogy  of  America  and  its  free  institutions,  and  of  the 
opportunity  offered  the  immigrant  to  achieve  success  here. 
That  is  perhaps  why  the  book  so  easily  secured  a  publisher 
.  .  .  and  the  American  criticisms  were  quite  favorable.  But 
this  is  actually  not  the  case.  It  is  only  in  a  few  passages  that 
America  is  being  flattered  in  a  mild  manner,  and  these  are 
the  weakest  part  of  the  book,  for  they  are  more  the  result  of 
the  author's  imagination  than  compatibility  with  the  truth. 
.  .  .  For  instance,  the  author  creates  the  impression  that  the 
American  .  .  .  welcomes  the  immigrant  with  the  greatest  hos- 
pitality. .  .  .  We  greatly  doubt  it.  The  description  of  the 
farmer  taking  off  his  hat  and  greeting  the  immigrant  children 
is  very  charming,  but  unfortunately  not  true.  The  American 
usually  regards  the  new  arrivals  with  suspicion.  ...  A  more 
accurate  description,  but  very  unflattering  to  America's  hos- 
pitality and  tolerance,  is  the  description  on  page  65  of  how 
W^itte's  parents  are  attacked  by  loafers,  one  of  whom  throws 
a  stone.  How  a  man  in  front  of  a  saloon  calls  Witte's  father 
"sheeny"  and  puts  his  fist  into  the  old  man's  face  while  a 
dozen  drunkards  burst  into  laughter.  There  are  other  at- 
tempts to  make  America  more  attractive  than  she  is,  and  these 
chapters  are  a  blot  upon  the  book.  In  reality  the  general 
description  contains  many  bitter  truths  for  Americans.  And 
that  is  why  Tobenkin's  book  is  a  very  good  contribution  to 
American  literature.  Many,  many  Americans  will  see  them- 
selves as  they  are  and  will  feel  ashamed.    "Manning"  is  not 

y  a  Socialist  .  .  .  who  cares  more  for  the  truth  than  for  his 

I  

'     *  Frcie   Arbeiter   Stimme    (Yiddish- Anarchist),    New   York    City, 

.October  6,  1899. 

222 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

newspaper  or  the  money  it  brings  him.  He  too  is  an  Ameri-  - 
can  and  .  .  .  exploits  his  co-workers  in  order  to  keep  the  pay 
roll  down  to  a  minimum  and  is  a  loyal  servant  to  his  bosses. 
He  merely  has  a  better  perspective  than  other  editors,  and 
the  newspaper  has  not  totally  destroyed  the  man  within 
him.' 

We  may  be  mistaken  .  .  .  but  we  find  in  the  novel  [The  Rise 
of  David  Levinsky]  something  the  author  might  not  have  in- 
tended— a  satire  on  America.  .  .  .  Another  significant  point 
is  the  fact  that  Socialism  is  hardly  menti<}netl;  yet  indirectly 
it  stanchly  defends  it  .  .  .  and  in  this  respect  it  stands  sky- 
high,  as  a  work  of  art,  above  all  other  works  of  Cahan  that 
we  have  received.  .  .  .  David  brings  to  America  all  his  home 
properties.  He  can  stand  hunger,  and  this  is  of  great  value 
to  him  here  at  the  beginning;  he  knows  no  pride  and  con- 
siders begging  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  this  also  is  of  service 
to  him;  but  what  benefits  him  most  is  his  lack  of  personality, 
which  helps  him  become  a  "genuine  American."  You  camiot 
fail  to  notice  that  Daviil  wishes  to  be,  not  himself,  but  what 
others  would  see  him.  You  are  convinced  that  he  is  a  rag,  a 
weakling,  without  originality,  but  thanks  to  his  ability  to 
adapt  himself  to  the  superficial,  the  basest  things  in  life  .  .  . 
he  becomes  a  millionaire.  Then  you  say  to  yourself,  "I  pity 
you,  America,  if  such  men  as  these  are  your  pillars,  if  such 
men  become  millionaires."  No  other  conclusion  can  be  made, 
especially  when  all  other  characters  who  come  in  contact  with 
David,  though  sky-high  above  him,  remain  on  the  same 
social  level.  Nothing  becomes  of  them,  but  Levinsky  rules 
the  world.  One  cannot  help  thinking  that  a  system  which 
destroys  a  man's  character  .  .  .  and  turns  him  into  a  money 
maniac  .  .  .  must  make  room  for  another  healthier  one. 
Levinsky  is  a  man  with  soul,  who  thirsts  for  love,  music, 
knowledge.  He  is  not  the  usual  passionate  money-making 
man.  ...  As  he  adapts  himself  to  environment  he  prefers  to 
make  a  million  in  cloaks.  For  it  is  easier  than  to  spend  his 
time  studying.    The  whole  enterprising  spirit  of  the  Russian 

'  Freie  Arbetter  Stimme  (Yiddish- Anarchist),  New  York  City,  E.  To- 
benkin.  Review  of  Witte  Arrives,  by  D.  B.  Yanowsky. 

223 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Jew  and  the  entire  history  of  the  cloak  industry  is  embodied 
in  Lcvinsky.  .  .  .  The  irony  of  fate  has  evidently  willed  that 
the  best  English-written  book  should  be  the  work  of  a  "for- 
eigner," and  it  remained  for  a  foreigner  to  .  .  .  reveal  the 
American  spirit  .  .  .  inasmuch  as  it  reflects  upon  the  Jewish 
immigrant.  .  .  .  We  think  that  this  very  book,  created  on 
American  soil,  speaks  more  favorably  for  America  .  .  .  than 
the  wealth  accumulation  of  David  Levinsky.  .  .  .^ 

America  a  Disappointment 

A  year  ago  [1916],  thousands  of  Russian  immigrants,  hav- 
ing escaped  from  the  tortures  of  Czarism,  called  hither  by  the 
strange  legend  that  America  is  a  land  of  liberty,  and  here 
cured  of  the  lying  superstition  by  the  sinister  gleam  of  the 
fires  of  Ludlow,  by  the  devastation  of  Bayonne,  by  the  racial 
lynchings,  by  the  San  Francisco  auto-da-fes,  returned  to  their 
country  at  the  first  outbreak  of  the  revolution,  when  Keren- 
sky  was  striving  to  build  upon  the  rubbish  heap  of  auto- 
cracy a  republic  in  the  image  and  likeness  of  the  United 
States. 

Before  the  Muscovite  crowds  in  the  fr>"nzy  of  palingenesis 
they  ripped  to  shreds  the  veil  of  the  sinister  lie.  A  demo- 
cratic republic  like  America?  Why,  Amirica  is  mediaeval 
serfdom.2 

Perhaps  to-morrow  we  will  go  across  the  ocean,  caressed  by 
the  audacious  American  liberties,  and  we  will  tell  to  the 
people  of  Italy,  to  the  admiring  and  deceived  people  of  Eu- 
rope, all  about  the  praiseworthy  democratic  principle  of  the 
great  western  republic,  as  the  thousand  refugees  of  the  Czar's 
government  have  done  when  they  re-entered  the  people's 
Russia. 

For  the  present  we  address  ourselves  to  you — that  is,  to 
the  friends  and  upholders  of  the  coward  acts  of  democracy, 

*  Freie  Arbciter  Stimme  (Yiddish-Anarchist),  New  York  City,  May 
25,  1918,  Review  of  The  Rise  of  David  Levinsky,  by  Abraham  Cahan, 
editor  of  the  Forward. 

*  Cronica  Sumersiva  (Italian-Anarchist),  Lynn,  Massachusetts, 
July  18,  1917. 

224 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

more  as  a  matter  of  mention  than  as  a  hope  that  soimd  and 
free  thoughts  of  straightforward  truth  will  prevail  in  you. 

Some  of  you  know  this  land  of  heavj'  ignorance  and  shame- 
less commercialism,  unless  in  the  j'oung  days  of  the  confed- 
eration you  passed  through  it  sheepishly  blind.  Many  of 
you  have  probably  been  deceived  by  the  indulgent  impression 
of  Dario  Papa.^ 

Although  arrived  last  among  the  legislative  tjTanny,  in 
less  tlian  six  months  the  great  republic  has  been  able  to  add 
to  the  "corpus  juris"  of  the  brutal  persecution  a  "trading 
with  the  enemy  act"  and  a  "sedition  bill,"  a  project  of  pro- 
scription against  the  anarchist  and  otlier  series  of  minor  ad- 
ministrative measures  that  form  the  dehght  of  those  who 
love  the  simple  and  holy  ignorance  of  the  inert  mind. 

This  as  to  theory!  The  practical  side  is  still  more  edifying! 
Even  if  observed  during  periods  when  not  menaced  by  any 
enemy. 

Tom  Mooney  has  the  hangman's  noose  at  his  throat, 
guilty  of  no  misdeeds  except  that  of  professing  ideas  that  are 
damaging  to  the  interests  of  the  greedy  rabble  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, California,  plutocrats.  And  it  is  due  to  the  timely  and 
healthy  echo  that  repercussed  in  Russia,  if  the  hirelings  of 
Croesus  have  not  as  yet  cut  off  his  last  hopes  of  escaping  with 
his  life  from  their  nails. 

It  is  only  a  few  years  and  the  enumeration  would  be  too 
long — that  the  Ludlow  matter  happened,  perpetrated  by  the 
W'ill  and  for  the  defense  of  one  of  those  "Gorkian"  monsters 
"with  capacious  fauces  that  feeds  the  gold  of  their  safes  with 
the  vermilion  blood  of  the  humble  working  people.  And 
Bayonne,  sinister  with  brutal  provocation;  and  the  provoca- 
tion and  massacre  of  Milwaukee,  ATisconsin,  and  the  pale 
flames  of  the  race  hatred  of  East  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  the 
insisting  lynchings,  are  singing  the  gloriou?  songs  of  the 
democratic  goodness  of  the  great  republic,  not  unworthy  to 
remain  side  by  side  with  the  monarchy  of  the  crippled  heir  of 


*  Dario  Papa  was  an  eminent  journalist  who  came  to  America  back 
in  1882,  and  when  he  returned  to  Italy  published  his  impressions  of 
this  country. — Note  of  the  Translator. 

225 


THE  IMMIGRiVNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

perfidious  Saxony,  and  to  attain  the  post  of  honor  with  the 
records  of  Czarism  and  the  bestiality  of  the  Cossacks. 

Signed :  TiiE  Bandits  of  All.  Laws.' 


SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  PROLETABIAT 

The  sufferings  of  the  proletarian  are  the  strongest  prop- 
aganda weapon  at  the  radical's  disposal.  By  its  use 
he  hopes  to  arouse  his  followers  to  action.  The  men 
and  women  who  have  suffered  because  of  their  radical 
activities  are  the  most  valuable  example  of  proletarian 
suffering.    Theirs  are  names  to  conjure  with. 

Passing  through  the  streets  one  need  not  pity  their  houses, 
for  they  are  better  than  the  ones  set  upon  their  own  fields; 
but  one  feels  a  shiver  as  he  scrutinizes  wife  and  child.  The 
father  consumes  his  life  smelting  steel  for  $1.00  or  $1.60  a 
day.  .  .  .  The  new  generation  is  stamped  with  the  curse  of 
civilization  .  .  .  out  of  the  mother's  body  emerge  minute, 
green-yellow,  and  weak-muscled  children.  And  this  in  a  land 
that  produces  such  broad-shouldered,  atliletic  people,  in  a 
land  where  even  small-statured  parents  who  came  from  some- 
where in  Lithuania  have  given  birth  to  children  twice  their 
own  proportions.  .  .  .  And  these  Pittsburgh  lean  but  firm 
men  who  came  from  the  field,  and  these  women  of  the  wind 
and  grass,  who  are  here  offering  themselves  to  the  steel  king 
.  .  .  produce  such  weak  children.* 

Let  us  read  the  news  which  portrays  the  accidents  of  the 
workingmen  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  alone. 

The  number  of  industrial  workingmen  wounded  within  the 
period  of  two  and  a  half  years  in  Pennsylvania  is  greater 
than  the  losses  of  the  army  which  has  been  sent  by  Canada 
or  Pennsylvania  against  the  Germans,  according  to  the  Penn- 
sylvania Bulletin  of  the  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry. 
The  majority  of  the  thousands  who  are  killed  are  the  victims 

'  Circular  addressed  "To  the  Italian  Journalists  who  came  to 
America  to  observe,  to  study  and  to  pray." — (Italian-Anarchist.) 
2  Day  (Yiddish-Liberal),  New  York  City,  March  9,  1917. 
226 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

of  the  speedy  manufacturing  system  which  the  manufacturers 
arrange  in  order  that  their  income  may  become  greater. 

The  industrial  army  of  Pennsylvania,  estimated  at  ap- 
proximately 3,000,000  men  within  two  and  a  half  years — 
i.e.,  from  January  1,  1916,  to  July  1,  1918 — suffered  a  loss  of 
677,053  men.  There  were  7,575  men,  women,  and  children 
killed. 

Canada,  after  four  years  of  war,  had  about  50,000  men 
returned  as  unfit  for  military  service.  This  number  does  not 
comprise  those,  wounded  or  sick,  who  have  recovered.  About 
1,200  of  the  incapacitated  soldiers  who  have  returned  to 
Canada  are  the  amputated  cases,  soldiers  who  have  lost  one 
or  both  hands,  feet,  fingers,  and  so  on. 

In  the  industrial  field  in  Pennsylvania  in  the  course  of  two 
and  a  half  years  there  were  3,798  amputated  cases. 

Such  is  the  truth.  There  are  more  losses  in  industry  than 
in  war.* 

Martyrs  of  Radicalism 

Although  many  of  us  fall  in  the  stubborn  battle. 

For  this  we  will  leave  to  the  future  generations 

The  gained  freedom. 

The  sun  of  truth  will  shine  in  the  worker's  hut 

And  happy  will  all  the  people  in  the  world  live. 

And  the  grandchildren  will  sometimes 

When  celebrating  freedom  remember 

All  the  fighters  who  fell 

In  the  stubborn  battle. 

— George  Tkatchuk.^ 

The  copper  barons  not  long  ago  broke  up  the  organization 
of  their  miners  by  means  of  the  "rustling  card"  method. 
They  provoked  strikers  with  their  unbearable  injustice.  They 
resorted  to  violence  against  the  miners.  They  introduced 
their  own  mob  rule  in  spite  of  the  Federal  authorities.    They 

*  Spravedlnost  (Bohemian-Socialist),  Chicago,  December  27,  1918. 

2  Robitnyk  (Ukrainian-Socialist),  Cleveland,  May  25,  1915.  (The 
author  helped  to  organize  the  Ukrainian  Socialist  party.  This  poem 
was  written  in  prison.) 

227 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

deported  hundreds  of  citizens  into  the  desert  and  left  them 
there  to  suffer  from  himger,  thirst,  and  the  burning  of  the 
sun's  rays.  They  instigated  the  hanging  of  Frank  Little,  the 
fearless  organizer  of  the  I.  W.  W.,  the  champion  of  labor. 

Did  the  American  government  sentence,  or  at  least  brand, 
the  copper  barons  for  their  cruelties  committed  against  labor? 

Or  do  they  hold  lives  of  no  value  when  the  victims  happen 
to  be  workingmen?  * 

Spurning  the  half-heartedness,  hypocrisy,  and  corruption 
of  the  decadent  official  Socialist  parties,  we,  the  Communists 
assembled  in  the  Third  International,  feel  ourselves  to  be  the 
direct  successors  of  the  heroic  efforts  and  martyrdom  of  a 
long  series  of  revolutionary  generations  from  Babocuf  to  Karl 
Liebknecht  and  Rosa  Luxembourg.^ 

The  proletarian  mass  must,  therefore,  replace  all  tlie  tra- 
ditional organs  of  the  domination  of  the  bourgeois  class, 
from  the  most  important  part  of  the  state  down  to  the  small- 
est community,  by  councils  of  workers  and  soldiers.  Simple 
decrees  by  the  supreme  revolutionary  authorities  on  Socialism 
are  by  themselves  worthless — Eugene  Debs,  Tom  Mooney, 
Kate  Richards  O'Hare,  Bill  Heywood,  and  Luigi  Parenti, 
Pietro  Nigra,  Giovanni  Balcozzi,  Pietro  Perri,  Pietro  Bobba, 
and  hundreds  of  others,  champions  of  the  workers'  movement, 
have  been  thrown  in  American  prisons.^ 

Everybody  against  the  war,  for  our  own  war — until  they 
return  to  us  Galleani  and  Eramo,  Goldman  and  Berkman, 
Billings  and  Mooney.* 

\Miat  story  will  be  told  to  the  commoners  of  Italy,  Spain, 
and  France  by  the  anarchists  whom  you  have  raided  through- 

1  Azpari  Munkas  (Himgarian-I.  W.  W.),  New  York  City,  Novem- 
ber 17,  1917. 

'^Manifesto  and  Governing  Rides  of  the  Communist  International, 
published  by  Chicago  Arbeiter-Zeitung  Publishing  Company,  1642 
N.  Halsted  Street,  Chicago. 

^  L'Era  Nuova  (Italian-Anarchist),  New  York  City. 

*  Cronica  Suvversiva  (Italian-Anarchist),  Lynn,  Massachusetts* 
June  3,  1917. 

228 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

out  the  forty-eight  states  of  the  Union  and  are  preparing  to 
expel?  .  .  .1 

We  take  and  will  take  the  martyrdom  of  our  Billings,  and 
to-morrow  the  head  of  our  Mooney  and  his  companion,  and 
in  a  bundle  all  of  our  victims  of  yesterday  and  to-day,  and 
we  will  present  them  before  all  the  war  people,  painted  with 
democracy,  and  say  to  them:  "A  democracy  covered  with  so 
many  infamies,  so  many  crimes,  it  is  pretty  just  that  it  has 
accomplished  the  last  and  greatest  crime,  that  of  prostituting 
itself  to-day  more  than  any  other  time  to  the  dogfish  of 
finance,  who  with  war  try  only  to  save  their  capital,  given — 
as  the  usurer  gives — to  the  bourgeoisie  of  Europe  in  order  to 
bleed  even  the  future  generations  after  the  present  has  given 
both  the  purse  and  life."  * 

We  call  attention  to  one  more  fact.  Any  kind  of  persecu- 
tion awakes  invariably  in  all  nobler  souls  a  powerful  attach- 
ment to  the  persecuted  cause.  We  know  well  that  for  29,- 
000,000  of  American  proletariat  we  have  only  100,000  mem- 
bers in  our  party,  while  in  Russian  Poland,  where  member- 
ship in  the  Socialist  party  is  being  punished  by  deportation 
and  hard  labor  in  the  mines  of  Siberia,  and  where  in  1905-07 
COO  Polish  Socialists  have  been  hanged  by  the  Russian  gov- 
ernment, the  Polish  industrial  proletariat  flocks  by  thousands 
to  the  banner  of  Socialism.  We  observe  the  same  sjTnptoms 
with  Poles  with  respect  to  patriotism.^ 

THE   RED   MOVEMENT 

Sympathy  with  the  Russian  experiment  is  usually  out- 
spoken. There  is  a  good  deal  of  communication  be- 
tween the  radical  organizations  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  and  of  the  world.     The  so-called  Red  move- 

1  Cronica  Suwersiva  (Italian-Anarchist),  Lynn,  Massachusetts, 
August  4,  1917. 

2  //  Proletario  (Italian-I.  W.  W.),  Boston. 

^  The  Polish  Socialists  and  the  Struggle  for  the  Independence  of 
Poland,  pamphlet  published  by  the  executive  committee  of  the  Polish 
Socialist  Alliance,  Chicago. 

229 


TIIE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

ment  seems,  however,  not  to  have  made  much  progress 
in  this  country. 

Bolshevism  Indorsed 

When  watching  the  world-happenings  and  reflecting,  I  be- 
heve  those  Russian  Bolsheviks  are  acting  exactly  as  they 
should  act  as  a  Socialistic  government.  Taking  it  from  the 
roots,  like  the  old  system  of  misgovernment,  so  with  the 
capitalists  and  clergy  who  are  in  the  way  of  progress,  enlight- 
enment, and  humanity.^ 

It  would  be  to  the  great  merit  of  the  Bolsheviki,  it  would 
hasten  the  process  and  bring  new  order  in  the  world,  if  they 
would  only  take  the  whole  country  of  Russia  in  their  hands 
with  all  regardlessness  of  consequence  and  perform  their 
Socialistic  program  to  change  the  whole  system  on  a  Socialis- 
tic scheme  and  instill  the  same  question  in  proletarian  masses 
of  all  countries.^ 

Lenine  and  all  his  adherents  fight  to  form  a  Socialistic  order 
in  the  entire  world;  but  as  earnest,  real  politicians  they  know 
that  this  can  only  be  achieved  in  a  revolutionary  manner. 
Therefore,  they  call  the  workers  of  all  countries  to  a  revolu- 
tion to  reconstruct  the  organization  on  which  the  bourgeois 
system  exists.  This,  the  proletariat  of  Russia  and  Germany 
understands;  this,  the  proletariat  of  England  and  France 
begins  to  understand;  one  must  hope  also  that  American 
workers  will  soon  begin  to  understand  the  plain  truth.^ 

Helping  the  European  Comrades 

Extending  a  brotherly  hand  to  the  revolutionary  working- 
man's  classes  in  Europe,  we  indorse  the  efforts  of  our  com- 
rades under  the  leadership  of  Karl  Liebknecht  and  of  our 
comrades  in  Finland,  Austria,  Bulgaria,  Serbia,  Holland,  and 

^  Spravedlrwst  (Bohemian-Socialist),  Chicago. 
2  Haydamaka  (Russian  and  Ukrainian-I.  W.  W.),  New  York  City. 
^  Der  Kampf  (Yiddish-Communist),  New  Y'ork  City. 
230 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

other  nations,  to  create  a  government  according  to  the  Rus- 
sian form. 

We  demand  that  our  government  immediately  recognize 
the  Russian  SociaHstic  republic  of  the  Soviets.^ 

The  Jewish  branch  of  the  Socialist  party  in  West  Phila- 
delphia has  sent  $25.00  in  response  to  our  proposal  to  create 
a  fund  to  help  the  English  Labor  party  at  the  coming  election. 
Together  with  what  was  previously  received  we  now  have 
$49.00.  From  Boston  and  many  other  cities  we  have  been 
notified  that  our  comrades  were  getting  ready  to  send  con- 
tributions. This  would  serve  as  a  good  example  of  true,  not 
alone  verbal,  solidarity,  if  the  Jewish  Socialists  will  make  a 
good  contribution  to  the  English  Labor  party  to  help  them 
in  the  great  and  significant  struggle  before  them.^ 

Red  Progress  in  the  United  States 

The  triumphal  march  of  Bolshevism  is  paving  the  way  in 
the  larger  industrial  centers  of  the  East.  Particularly  the 
liveliest  harbor  cities,  such  as  New  York  and  Boston,  to 
which  I  shall  devote  this  article,  appear  to  blaze  the  red  trail, 
at  any  rate,  in  the  revolutionary  propaganda  work.  The 
mass  meetings  are  beginning  to  develop  a  mighty  movement, 
particularly  among  the  Russians  and  Irishmen.  There  is  no 
longer  a  single  Sunday  or  holiday  when  crowds  by  the  thou- 
sands do  not  rush  to  meetings  vieing  to  hear  and  spread  the 
seed  of  revolution. 

On  the  15  th  instant  there  was  a  big  mass  meeting  by  the 
Irishmen,  in  which  there  was  as  speaker  one  of  the  best  known 
English  speakers,  Jim  Larkin.  The  occasion  turned  out  to  be 
festive  and  spurtive  with  fire  of  revolution,  when  this  "fire- 
tongue"  spoke  with  his  thundering  voice  to  a  brimful  audi- 
ence at  the  Grand  Opera  House.  .  .  . 

Readers  of  the  Indu-strialisii  residing  in  Boston  and  vicin- 
ity, take  notice!  January  19th  will  turn  out  to  be  a  gigantic 
propaganda  occasion,  for  the  reason  that  tlie  local  defense 
committee  of  the  political  prisoners  has  arranged  a  big  mass 

1  Spravedlnost  (Bohemian-Socialist),  Chicago,  November  18,  1918. 
*  Naye  Welt  (Yiddish-Socialist).  New  York  City.  October  25,  1918. 
231 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

meeting  for  tliat  day  in  the  Grand  Opera  House,  at  724 
Washington  Street.  Speakers  will  be  first  class,  such  as 
Scott  Nearing,  etc.    Therefore  come  along  by  the  crowds.^ 

We  must  not  look  disinterested  at  the  events  in  Europe, 
but  must  do  our  most,  that  the  revolutionary  flag  will  also 
be  raised  on  this  side  of  the  ocean.  Thus  we  render  the 
biggest  help  to  the  European  revolution.'^ 

Now  is  the  time  to  join  the  Socialistic  movement,  who  have 
joined  together  with  the  Revolutionary  Proletariat  of  the 
world,  in  a  decisive  battle  against  the  black  crows  of  the 
world,  who  endeavor  to  force  new  claims  upon  the  working 
classes  of  all  countries. 

Together  with  our  brethren  of  Europe,  who  have  loudly 
proclaimed  the  realization  of  Socialism,  and  to  build  a  power. 

The  Socialist  movement  in  America  enters  into  a  period  of 
active  battle,  of  active  propaganda,  to  spread  the  theory  of 
Socialism. 

Jewish  Branch  Fourth  Socialist  Party.  We  meet  every 
Monday  evening,  647  Prospect  Avenue,  Bronx.^ 


PROPHECIES 

The  prophecy  of  ultimate  triumph  is  a  favorite  sport 
among  radical  writers.  Some  of  them  breathe  smoke 
and  fire  and  attain  a  rhapsodic  abandon  almost  inco- 
herent. Others  paint  a  picture  of  serene  happiness  in 
the  "new  society." 

The  conflict  is  going  on.  Russia,  Germany,  East  and  Cen- 
tral Europe  are  the  arena  of  the  great  fight.  Only  rumors 
reach  us;  we  get  only  the  echo  of  the  steps  from  the  dis- 
tance. "There  rings  on  the  ladder  of  time  the  soft  step  of 
feet  in  silken  shoes  that  are  walking  down  and  the  heavy 
step  of  feet  in  wooden  shoes  that  are  going  up."  The  poet 
sees  the  final  triumph  of  the  feet  in  wooden  shoes.    We,  the 

1  Industrialisti  (Finnish-I.  W.  W.),  Duluth,  December  30,  1918. 

2  Uus  Ulm  (Esthonian-Socialist),  New  York  City. 
«  Pamphlet  (Yiddish). 

232 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

dry  prosaic  people  of  life,  know  that  one  side  will  go  up;  but 
the  other  will  rot  go  down  in  good  will  because  they  do  not 
wish  to  go  down  willingly.  A  terrible  conflict  is  coming. 
This  is  not  a  prophecy  or  a  dark  foreboding;  neither  is  it 
rejoicing  over  the  storm  which  approaches.  It  is  a  cold  and 
sober  outlook  upon  what  has  grown  ripe  in  the  lap  of  our 
society  and  is  as  unavoidable,  tragically  unavoidable  if  you 
wish,  as  the  rising  of  the  sun  and  the  heaving  and  falling  of 
the  ocean.  And  not  by  curses  and  charms  will  you  avoid  the 
fight,  the  titanic  clash  between  the  elemental  forces  of  the 
social  world.    And  still  less  by  arms  and  brute  force. ^ 

The  World  War  has  shattered  the  international  proletariat; 
the  capitalist  classes  were  once  again  successful  in  sicking 
the  nations  on  each  other  and  in  getting  the  workers  of  the 
different  countries  to  slay  and  destroy  each  other.  But  it 
accomplished  even  more.  .  .  .  WTiole  parties,  entire  working 
classes — at  least  it  appeared  so — followed  their  employers 
and  rulers,  and  went  to  their  death  before  the  eyes  of  the 
capitalists,  singing  capitalistic  songs  and  transported  by 
capitaHstic  patriotism.  ...  It  even  happened  that  Socialistic 
leaders  themselves  seized  rifles  and  rushed  "to  a  heroic 
death  for  their  fatherland."  .  .  .  Capitalism  seemed  to  sit  on 
its  throne,  all  peoples  its  faithful  subjects,  with  not  one  rebel 
to  threaten  its  safety  and  prosperity.  .  .  .  But  it  only  seemed 
so.  All  else  in  the  world  deceives;  only  the  revolutionism 
of  the  proletariat  masses  stands.  ...  In  Stockholm  will  soon 
sit  the  parliament  of  the  peoples  of  the  world,  which  con- 
venes above  capitalistic  governments,  victorious  govern- 
ments, victorious  emperors  and  rulers;  on  the  strength  of 
revolutionary  proletariat  masses,  on  the  strength  of  revolu- 
tion, before  which  governments  are  silent  and  capitalistic 
states  tremble.^ 

The  capitalistic  class  with  its  prisons  can  no  more  hold  up 
the  revolution  than  the  legendary  old  woman  was  able  to 
sweep  back  the  waves  of  the  sea  with  her  broom. 

'  Naye  Welt  (Yiddish-Socialist),  New  York  City,  November  15, 
1918. 
*  Raivaaja  (Finnish-Socialist),  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts. 
233 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

When  the  masses  shall  be  inoculated  with  the  spirit  of 
class  solidarity,  only  then,  when  unshakable  faith  in  their 
own  strength  arises,  can  they  hope  to  pluck  the  fruits  of 
the  great  revolutionary  struggles,  of  which  they  were  the 
creators.' 

And  say,  what  would  you  be  in  a  world  without  gods, 
without  kings,  without  bosses,  without  fetters,  without 
tears? 

Judgment  day! 

Awake  and  be  on  your  guard,  obtuse  herd  of  faithful  slaves. 

The  storm  approaches  thundering  from  the  far  east,  and 
in  the  darkened  skies  flashes  the  apocah'pse  of  unexpected 
expiations,  while  comes  from  the  most  profound  and  less 
explained  strata  of  history  the  eruptions,  the  heresies  of  suf- 
ferings, releases  of  surprising  irrepressible  strength.' 

One  must  be  merciless  toward  things  and  institutions — 
first,  private  property  and  her  companion,  the  state,  must 
be  done  away  with.  Yes!  The  success  of  the  revolution  is 
in  that  she  falls  hard  not  on  men,  but  on  institutions  men 
have  created. 

Then  let  the  brave  forerunners  of  the  storm  arise! 

Let  the  creative  powers  develop — let  the  storm  start!  ' 

Let  us  tell  these  Kaisers  of  wealth  once  for  all  that  we  are 
disposed  to  obtain  our  liberty  at  the  price  of  their  stinking 
carcasses.  That  we  are  determined  to  obtain  our  liberty, 
appearing  in  the  night  in  their  sanctuaries  as  livid  specters, 
because  of  the  centuries  of  starvation  and  chains,  with  a 
dagger  between  our  teeth  tight  because  of  wTath;  and  with 
dynamite  will  we  bring  down  the  roof  of  their  dwellings, 
where  infamy,  dishonor,  and  slavery  are  perpetuated.^ 

Let  them  keep  up  their  methods,  these  American  extor- 
tioners.   They  play  dangerously  with  fire.     Let  them  hang 

^  A.  Felszabadulas  (Hungarian-I.  W.  W.),  Chicago. 
'  Cronica  Suvversiva  (Italian-Anarchist),  Lynn,  Massachusetts. 
'  Bread  and  Freedom  (Russian-SjTidicalist),  New  York  City. 
*  //  Diretto  (Italian-I.  W.  W.),  New  York  City,  January  25,  1919. 
234 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

a  few  more  leaders  and  agitators  of  the  workmen.  Have  we 
not  a  great  number  of  telegraph  poles?  But  all  those  who 
perform  this  hangman's  work  with  so  much  pleasure  ought 
to  remember  before  it  is  too  late  that  it  will  not  always  be 
an  educated,  progressive,  and  organized  workman  who  is 
hanging  from  these  poles.  And  if  we  have  not  sufficient  poles 
there  are  other  places  where  these  very  same  hangmen  will 
swing,  who  first  started  this  hanging. 
"Therefore,  beware  in  time!"  * 

The  International  of  to-morrow  takes  deep  roots  in  the 
blood-saturated  soil  of  to-day.  The  International  moves  on. 
We  will  yet  live  to  proclaim  it.^ 

The  time  when  Socialism  was  a  divided  hope,  a  dream,  an 
ideal,  has  gone.  Socialism  exists.  The  idea  of  Socialism  has 
been  realized. 

But — not  everywhere.  Our  harvest  is  not  full.  The  big 
part  of  earth  is  not  yet  ripe.  But  she  is  getting  ripe  in  our 
eyes.  With  every  day,  every  hour,  every  minute,  we  are 
nearer  and  nearer  our  full  harvest.  The  workingmen  by 
tens,  hundreds,  and  thousands  are  leaving  their  old  hearths 
and  severing  all  connections  with  old  opinions  and  forcefully 
entering  the  camp  of  Socialists.     Everywhere  the  same.  .  .  . 

The  Russian  workmen  have  got  rid  of  the  bourgeoisie.  And 
we  will  get  rid  of  them  to-day  or  to-morrow.  Only  more 
work,  more  courage!  Our  fate  is  being  made  here — our  own 
and  that  of  our  children.  We  are  not  going  to  struggle  for 
"democracy."  We  are  struggling  for  bread,  for  a  warm 
corner  in  a  house!  We  struggle  in  order  to  be  able  to  use  the 
fruits  of  our  labor.  We  want  to  get  rid  of  the  yoke  which 
was  put  upon  us  during  the  last  five  centuries.  We  want  to 
get  rid  of  that  slavery  of  the  soul  which  was  imposed  upon 
us  during  the  last  twenty  centuries.  We  want  bread,  free- 
dom, and  right!  The  present  civilization  does  not  give  them 
to  us.  This  civilization  we  have  to  overthrow,  to  root  it 
out.    It  gives  us  nothing  but  hard    work,  sweat,  cold,   and 

^  Ohrana  (Bohemian),  New  York  City. 

*  Forward  (Yiddish-Socialist),  New  York  City,  October  29,  1918. 
16  235 


THE  IMMIGR.VNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

tears.     On  the  ruins  of  capitalist  civilization  we  will  build 
our  civilization.    It  will  be  our  harvest.* 

Companions!  The  moment  is  solemn;  it  is  the  moment 
preceding  the  greatest  political  and  social  catastrophe  that 
history  registers;  the  insurrection  of  all  people  against  exist- 
ing conditions. 

It  will  surely  be  a  blind  impulse  of  the  masses  which  suffer, 
it  will  be  without  a  doubt  the  disorderly  explosion  of  the 
fury  restrained  hardly  by  the  revolver  of  the  bailiff  and  the 
gallows  of  the  hangman;  it  will  be  the  overflow  of  all  the 
indignation  and  all  the  sorrows  and  will  produce  the  chaos, 
the  chaos  favorable  to  all  who  fish  in  turbid  waters;  chaos 
from  which  may  sprout  new  oppressions  and  new  tyrannies; 
for  in  such  cases,  regularly,  the  charlatan  is  the  leader. 

It  falls  to  our  lot,  the  intellectual,  to  prepare  the  popu- 
lar mentality  until  the  moment  arrives — while  not  preparing 
the  insurrection,  since  insurrection  is  born  of  tjTanny. 

Prepare  the  people  not  only  to  await  with  serenity  the 
grand  events  which  we  see  glimmer,  but  to  enable  them  to 
see  and  not  let  themselves  be  dragged  along  by  those  who 
want  to  induce  them,  now  over  a  flowery  road,  toward  iden- 
tic slavery  and  a  similar  tjTanny,  as  to-day  we  suffer. 

To  gain  that  the  unconscious  rebelliousness  may  not  forge 
with  its  own  hands  a  new  chain  that  will  enslave  the  people, 
it  is  important  that  all  of  us — all  that  do  not  believe  in  gov- 
ernment, all  that  are  convinced  that  government,  whatso- 
ever its  form  may  be  and  whoever  may  be  the  head,  is 
tyranny,  because  it  is  not  an  institution  created  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  weak,  but  to  support  the  strong — we  place 
oiu-selves  at  the  height  of  circumstances,  and  without  fear 
propagate  our  holy  anarchist  ideal,  the  only  just,  the  only 
human,  the  only  true.^ 

On  this  May  1st  of  workingmen's  blood  each  slave  of 
salary  faces  then  the  nicest,  healthy  bath  for  himself  and 
for  the  common  cause.     The  consciences  be  renovated,  our 

1  Rohitnyh  (Ukrainian-Communist),  New  York  Citj'. 
*  Regeneration  (Spanish-I.  W.  W.),  Los  Angeles,  California. 
236 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

souls  be  sharpened  to  the  faith  in  ourselves,  our  strength  be 
organized  for  the  defense  of  to-day  and  for  to-morrow's 
assault  upon  the  bourgeois  world. 

The  cowards  remain  aside,  the  daring  come  forward  ready 
for  our  "war  of  classes." 

The  bones  of  our  martjTS,  the  bones  of  the  proletariat, 
dragged  by  living  force,  increased  by  the  war  of  kings  and 
of  the  mighty;  we  will  use  them  to  strike  on  our  drums 
calling  the  gathering  armies  of  labor  to  the  complete  conquest 
of  liberty  and  justice. 

And  so  we  shall  do  the  day  when,  closed  in  destructive 
avalanches  moving  with  "torch  and  ax"  against  our  enemies, 
the  "state,"  the  "church,"  the  "capitalism,"  with  the  ter- 
rible cry,  "It  is  the  Revolution  that  passes;  it  is  the  war  of 
classes,"  that  destroys  a  world  of  infamies  to  create  the 
social  justice.* 

The  New  Society 

Only  the  world-revolution  of  the  proletariat  can  bring 
about  order  out  of  this  chaos — can  bring  to  humanity  peace, 
liberty,  and  true  civilization.^ 

But  now  we  will  let  Wagner  himself  speak:  "^Mien  the 
brotherhood  of  man  has  thrown  off  this  care,  has  bound  it 
all  on  machinery  as  the  Greek  did  on  the  slave,  man,  instead 
of  being  a  fetish  worshiper  of  idols  that  he  has  made  with  his 
own  hands,  will  be  free  and  creative,  and  all  his  energies  will 
be  freed  for  the  pursuit  of  the  arts.  In  every  country,  in 
every  race,  men  who  have  real  freedom  will  become  strong. 
Through  their  strength  they  will  advance  to  a  spirit  of  real 
love,  and  through  this  real  love  they  will  attain  beauty. 
Beauty,  however,  occupies  itself  with  the  arts." 

The  objection  that  haters  of  Socialism  always  raise  is 
that  Socialism  will  drag  art  dowTi  from  its  height,  that  the 
idealism  of  mankind  will  be  destroyed.  This  objection 
Wagner  refutes  so  thoroughly  that  people  who  think  will 
hardly  venture  to  raise  it  again.     Wagner    and    Socialism 

*  Guerra  di  Classe  (Italian-I.  W.  W.),  New  York  City. 
2//  Martello  (Italian-I.  W.  W.),  New  York  City,  April  26,  1918. 
237 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  .\ND  ITS  CONTROL 

stand  so  high  above  the  masses  with  their  commonness    of 
sentiment,  that  their  spite  is  quite  unable  to  touch  them. 

Wagner's  warning  to  the  artists  themselves,  his  warning 
to  the  "worthy"  statesman  has  died  away  without  ever 
having  been  heard.  The  people,  however,  hear  it,  even 
though  it  is  faint.  Through  Socialism  alone  will  art  be  born 
again.  We,  therefore,  are  the  partners  of  Wagner,  the  only 
friends  of  real  art.  The  opponents  of  Socialism  are  the 
enemies  of  art.^ 

Society  to-day  is  founded  on  such  a  basis  that  it  is  hated 
by  all  of  us  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts,  and  this  society, 
if  we  are  to  remain  worthy  of  the  Socialist  name,  must  be 
crushed  to  the  last  breath.  Society  to-day  is  founded  on  a 
robber  system — man  preying  upon  man. 

Harmony  and  peace  would  come  to  men  if  they  would 
work  only  two  or  three  hours  each  day.  The  work  would 
be  done  with  pleasure.^ 

The  ultimate  aim  of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World 
is  beautiful  enough  to  inspire  all  sincere  men  and  women  to 
become  willinglj'^  martyrs  for  their  conviction.  The  ideal  is 
a  co-operative  society,  an  industrial  republic.  Not  a  congress 
in  which  would  sit  politicians  elected  in  wards,  cities,  dis- 
tricts, and  states;  but  a  congress  in  which  will  sit  workmen 
elected  from  the  industries  in  which  they  work.  The  work- 
men will  elect  their  own  superiors,  their  own  coimcils  of 
directors.  Workmen's  committees  will  pass  on  the  employ- 
ment in  mines,  fields,  and  factories.  Our  ideal  is  a  world 
without  poverty,  without  crime,  a  world  where  there  is 
plenty  of  everything,  a  world  full  of  happiness.^ 

RACIAL   TRAITS   IN   RADICALISM 

While  the  themes  of  the  radical  press  are  much  the 
same  everywhere,  the  expression  of  them  differs.    The 

^  Fackel  (German-Socialist),  Chicago,  May  5,  1918. 
2  Spravedlnost  (Bohemian-Socialist),  Chicago,  January  22,  1919. 
'  Spravedlnost    (Bohemian-Socialist),    Chicago,    April    11,    1919. 
(Letter  of  an  I.  W.  W.  indicted  in  the  Chicago  trial  of  1918.) 

238 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

Kterature  of  discontent,  like  the  humor  and  the  songs  of 
a  people,  carries  its  omti  stamp. 

The  quotations  from  German,  Russian,  Finnish, 
Italian,  and  Spanish  radical  papers  will  serve  to  show 
how  different  is  the  expression  of  those  peoples  who 
are  popularly  said  to  belong  to  the  Teutonic,  the  Slavic, 
and  the  Latin  races. 

FUROR   TEUTONICUS 

German  Socialism  reached  the  apex  of  its  radical  ex- 
pression in  Johann  Most  and  the  Haymarket  riot.  Since 
that  time  it  has  gradually  become  tamed  and  domesti- 
cated. The  attempt  to  popularize  the  works  of  Marx, 
who  was  a  German  Jew,  and  to  make  his  abstract  eco- 
nomic theories  lucid  and  interesting,  has  been  given  up 
almost  everywhere  except  in  the  German  press. 

Causerie 

What  shall  we  chat  about  to-day,  dear  readers?  About 
events  of  the  day?  Alas!  they  are  disheartening;  and  be- 
sides, we  hear  enough  of  the  great  fight  in  the  world  on 
every  workday.  To-day,  on  Sunday,  we  ought  to  forget 
for  a  little  while  all  this  muddle,  and  gather  in  a  quiet  and 
comfortable  spirit  of  observation.  This  should  especially  be 
possible  as  this  is  the  centennial  anniversary  of  Karl  Marx's 
birthday.  To  think  that  we  cannot  celebrate  it  more  gladly 
and  more  hopefully!  To  think  that  to-day  we  are  further 
removed  than  ever  from  the  attainment  of  his  challenge! 
"Workers  of  all  lands,  unite!" 

This  great  movement  of  Socialism  has  been  lacking  in 
depth.  Too  many  have  not  understood  the  foundation  prin- 
ciples of  Socialism.  That  was  not  the  case  when  the  move- 
ment was  still  small,  when  it  was  still  persecuted,  when  he 
who  called  himself  a  Socialist  was  exposed  to  chicanery, 
material  losses,  and  even  to  being  exiled.  In  those  days  a 
man  did  not  join  the  "party"  unless  he  was  entirely  per- 
meated with  the  teaching  of  Socialism.  In  those  days  the 
workers  studied  the  books  which  Karl  Marx  has  given  to  the 

239 


THE  IJMIVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

world  and  became  Socialists  out  of  profoundest  conviction, 
and  remained  Socialists,  real  Socialists,  as  long  as  they  lived. 
Their  philosophy  of  life  was  rooted  in  scientific  Socialism,  in 
a  recognition  of  the  processes  of  the  history  of  mankmd,  and 
that,  alas,  is  to-tlay  no  longer  the  case  with  many  comrades. 
But  we  must  have  this  conviction  again  if  we  wish  to  heal 
the  wounds  which  the  events  of  the  last  few  years  have  dealt 
to  the  aspirations  of  the  workers. 

The  best  thing  would  be  to  begin  right  away.  No  day 
coidd  be  more  fitting  than  to-day  when  we  are  celebrating 
the  hundrcilth  birthday  of  the  man  who  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  Socialistic  doctrine.  So  we  might  now,  in  the  peace  of 
the  Sabbath,  converse  about  Surplus  Values.  Scholars  may 
wonder  at  this  point  how  any  one  expects  to  treat  "Surplus 
Values"  under  the  title  of  "causerie" — that  theorj'  of  Surplus 
Values  which  Marx  tried  to  explain  in  many  volumes.  I 
grant  that  this  is  not  to  be  a  scholarly  treatise.  The  founda- 
tion principle  of  the  theory  of  Surplus  Values  can  be  expressed 
in  short,  clear  words  and  that  is  what  we  expect  to  do,  and 
what  we  are  going  to  say  here  ought  at  least  to  serve  as 
stimulus  to  further  studies. 

Of  what  use  are  all  the  treatises  of  scholars  if  they  are  not 
so  expressed  that  tliose  who  are  shut  out  from  the  advantage 
of  having  a  good  school  education  cannot  understand  them, 
and  why  is  it  not  possible  to  write  in  a  light  and  conversational 
way  about  deep  and  serious  things? 

The  first  thing  that  we  would  have  to  explain  would  be 
"value."  The  seed  which  is  a  part  of  the  ear  of  wheat  is 
borne  away  on  the  wind,  falls  on  fruitful  soil,  grows,  blossoms, 
ripens;  and  the  same  procedure  is  repeated.  This  seed  has 
no  "value."  As  soon,  however,  as  man  lays  his  hand  on  the 
ear  of  wheat  the  establishment  of  "value"  begins.  It  de- 
pends on  the  labor  of  man.  The  farmer  cuts  and  threshes  the 
wheat.  It  then  acquires  a  specific  value — it  has  just  as  much 
value  as  the  amount  of  human  energy  expended  upon  it. 
The  miller  grinds  the  wheat;  then  it  acquires  a  new  value. 
The  baker  bakes  the  flour  into  bread,  and  in  the  bread,  the 
total  amount  of  labor  expended  in  making  the  wheat  into 
bread,  is  expressed  in  terms  of  price. 

240 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

Such  is  the  theory  of  Surplus  Value,  which  we  want  to 
abolish  when  we  demand  that  the  workers  shall  get  the  full 
price  of  their  labor.  This  Surplus  Value  is  a  fine  thing  for 
the  capitalist,  and  he  naturally  does  not  want  to  have  it  taken 
away  from  him.  Only  a  well-organized  and  enlightened  pro- 
letariat will  be  able  to  take  this  Surplus  Value,  which  belongs 
to  the  whole  of  society,  away  from  the  capitalist.  But  only 
a  proletariat  which  reads,  which  occupies  itself  with  national 
economic  problems,  will  be  in  a  position  to  spread  enlighten- 
ment, to  raise  itself  to  greater  heights,  and  to  gain  new  ad- 
herents to  the  Socialist  society.  To  anyone  who  wishes  to 
go  into  the  economic  doctrines  which  Karl  Marx  has  given 
to  us,  we  recommend  the  book  of  Kautzky,  Karl  Marx's 
Economic  Teachings,  which  explains  them  in  a  simple  and 
imderstandable  way.  This  book  is  to  be  found  in  many 
workers'  hbraries.^ 

RUSSIAN   AXD   FINNISH   REDS 

The  radicalism  of  the  Russian  and  Finnish  Reds  is  a 
product  of  the  war  conditions  in  their  countries,  and  it 
is  still  red-hot.  Up  to  the  fall  of  1915  there  were  no 
Bolshevist  papers  in  the  United  States.  The  Russian 
Socialists  were  few;  their  leaders  were  Russian  Jews — 
doctors  or  dentists  mostly — and  the  circulation  of  their 
papers  small.  When  Trotzky  came  to  New  York,  the 
Bolshevik  wing  got  together  a  lot  of  Lettish  sympa- 
thizers, ousted  the  Mensheviki  from  the  editorial  board, 
and  made  Trotzky  editor  of  the  Novy  Mir.  The 
United  States,  therefore,  had  a  Bolshevik  paper  two 
seasons  before  the  Bolshevik  revolution  ever  occurred. 
The  Finnish  Reds  live  in  the  copper  country  of  north- 
ern Michigan,  Minnesota,  and  Wisconsin.  Unlike  the 
other  radicals,  they  are  not  scattered  or  migratory. 

A  Bolshevist  Fairy  Tale 
In  an  empty  field  there  stood  a  little  tower.    There  came 
to  it  a  lordly  prince.     Knock!    Knock!    Knock!     "^^^lo  is 

^  Fackel  (German-Socialist),  Chicago,  May  5,  1918. 
241 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

living  in  this  hut?"  No  one  answered.  The  prince  went  into 
the  hut  and  began  living  there.  Then  there  came  to  the  hut 
a  merchant  trader.  Knock!  Knock!  Knock!  "WhoisHving 
inthishut.^"  "I  am  Hving  in  this  hut.  I  am  a  lordly  prince, 
master  of  the  earth.  And  who  are  you?"  "I  am  a  merchant 
trader.  I  live  as  I  can,  little  by  little  I  grow  rich.  Over  the 
whole  nation  I  create  speculation  and  for  my  greater  comfort 
I  have  sold  my  soul  to  the  devil."  "Come  and  live  with  me." 
So  they  began  to  live  together  as  friends.  After  a  while  there 
came  to  the  hut  a  priest.  Knock!  Knock!  Knock!  "^^^lo 
is  living  in  this  hut?"  "I  am  a  merchant  trader."  "And  I 
am  a  lordly  prince,  master  of  the  earth.  I  am  in  with  the 
little  father,  the  Tsar."  "I  love  to  build  vodka  shops,  and  I 
love  the  peasants,  believe  me.  I  whip  them  to  death.  But 
who  are  you?"  *T  am  a  priest,  servant  of  the  Tsar.  I  bless 
the  people,  bury  them,  empty  their  purses,  and  deceive  them."  ■ 
"Come  and  live  with  us." 

So  they  began  to  live  together  quite  happily.  The  lordly 
prince  made  war  against  his  neighbors;  the  merchant  trader 
looked  for  chances  to  take  the  last  shirt  off  a  peasant's  back; 
and  the  priest  taught  the  people  patience  because  everything 
is  from  God. 

Then  there  came  to  the  hut  a  kulak.  Knock!  Knock! 
Knock!  "\M)o  is  living  in  this  hut?"  "We  are  a  lordly 
prince,  a  merchant  trader,  and  a  priest,  servant  of  the  Tsar. 
And  who  are  you?"  "I  am  a  kulak.  I  have  a  vodka  shop  in 
the  village.  They  bring  everything  there,  even  the  swaddling 
clothes.  In  my  vodka  shop  I  sell  self-destruction.  But  just 
now  I  haven't  got  much  power  among  the  village  poor  because, 
no  matter  how  you  talk,  they  say  'village  bourgeoisie.'" 
"Well,  all  right,  come  and  live  with  us." 

So  they  all  four  began  to  live  together.  A  story  is  told 
quickly,  but  not  so  quickly  is  a  thing  done.  They  had  to 
wait  a  long  time. 

Then  one  day — such  a  beautiful  day  as  has  never  been  told 
of  in  any  story  or  written  down  with  a  pen — there  came  a 
great  noise.  Knock!  Kjiock!  Knock!  " ^\^lo  is  living  in  this 
hut?"  "We  are  a  lordly  prince,  a  merchant  trader,  a  priest, 
servant  of  the  Tsar,  and  a  kulak.    And  who  are  you?" 

242 


THE  CLASS  WAR 

.  .  ."I  am  the  Revolution,  and  I  am  going  to  strangle  j'ou 
all."  So  it  came  in  and  strangled  them  all.  And  there  was 
left  only  a  little  wet  spot  from  the  oppressors  of  the  people. 

This  is  the  whole  story.  But  soon  it  will  be  told  in  all 
countries  and  in  all  languages. i 

The  Banners 

As  we  have  done  at  home — where  noblemen  and  landlords 
are  not  dangerous  any  longer,  from  their  palaces  to  the  huts 
of  the  poor  peasants — the  Socialistic  revolution  will  over- 
throw in  other  countries  the  power  of  the  rich  over  the  poor, 
the  power  of  the  landlords,  bankers,  and  manufacturers  over 
the  toiling  masses.  That  is  what  our  banner  is  calling  to. 
Our  banner  is  red;  it  is  the  banner  of  life,  banner  of  struggle — 
hot  as  blood — lifelike  as  blood.  The  blood  that  has  been 
spilled  by  those  fallen  in  the  struggle  has  colored  it,  and  it 
sparkles  with  flame. 

Let  all  the  beasts  of  prey  of  all  countries  go  into  the  battle 
— everyone  with  his  distinct  banner;  white  banners  of  the 
white  guard,  lilac,  yellow,  red,  and  blue,  black  and  red,  black 
and  yellow,  green,  and  gray. 

They  all  call,  not  to  the  brotherhood  of  mankind.  They 
all  call,  not  to  the  unity,  but  to  enmity.  Not  one  of  them 
may  serve  as  banner  of  the  peoples  of  the  world. 

Only  the  banner  of  the  Russian  Socialist  Soviet  Federated 
Republic  calls  the  peoples  to  unite  in  one  universal  gigantic 
imion  of  toilers,  among  whom  there  will  be  no  war,  no  enmity, 
no  clashes,  and  all  will  be  able  to  work  peacefully,  and  every- 
one to  live  according  to  one's  traditions  and  laws. 

Comrades  and  brothers!  Warriors  of  the  Red  Guard!  Do 
you  want  the  banner  of  the  Red  to  become  the  banner  of  the 
world.'' 

You  worker,  you  peasant,  press  your  rifle  harder,  for  re- 
member you  defend  the  Red  Banner  of  the  struggle  against 
the  oppressors — the  Red  Banner  of  all  toilers. 

Remember,  wherever  it  is  raised,  it  is  the  crimson  color  of 
the  flame,  of  the  revolt  of  the  toiling. 

'  Povenetakaya  Sveada  (Russian-I.  W.  W.),  Chicago.  A  story  for 
children,  by  A.  Polvak. 

243 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Follow  the  Red  Banner!  Advance  bravely  and  auda- 
ciously !  ^ 

To  Which  Crowd  Do  You  Belong? 

One  question  should  be  put  very  sharply  into  every  woman's 
head:  Do  you  want  to  belong  to  the  organized  workers,  or 
are  you  against  them?  Finnish  working  sister,  do  you  place 
yourself  in  the  opposers  of  Socialism's  slaughterers'  lines,  or 
no?  If  you  do  not  want  to  belong  to  those  brutal  slaughterers* 
group — who  have  probably  slaughtered  your  loving  brother, 
sister,  or  your  native  home — then  you  belong  to  us  organized 
workers.    Mark  your  foimdation,  working  sister.^ 

Eferoes 

For  freedom,  working  boy, 

You  can  shed  your  hot  blood, 

With  the  streams  of  your  blood,  red  streams, 

Finland's  earth  is  now  immersed 

Traitors  of  their  land,  bourgeoisie. 

Now  tighten  the  chains  of  slavery.^ 

From  a  Reader 

Wives  and  daughters,  trj^  to  subscribe  for  the  Toveritar  by 
wholesale.  In  it  is  good  reading  matter.  The  editor  will  take 
care  that  not  much  women's  gossip  will  get  into  the  paper. 
I  am  an  anxious  reader  of  the  Toveritar,  and  even  the  children 
like  it.  We  cannot  do  anything  else  when  the  Toveritar  comes. 
We  mothers  of  large  families  have  not  much  time  to  read, 
but  we  have  time  to  glance  over  a  little  weekly  paper.  Our 
situation  is  so  severe  that  we  have  to  think  very  seriously. 
We  think  of  our  children's  fate.  What  is  their  future?  Capi- 
talism crushes  even  yoimg  workers'  lives  and  uses  the  best 
youths  of  the  land  like  cattle  in  their  bloody  sports.    So  many 

1  Published  by  the  Military  Department  of  All-Russian  Central 
Executive  Committee. 
*  Toveritar  (Finnish-I.  W.  W.),  Astoria,  Oregon.' 
'Ibid. 

244 


THE   CLASS  WAR 

times  rises  a  sigh  from  the  breast  and  wishes  for  the  time 
when  the  proletariat's  spring  will  dawn.     Best  greetings.  .  .  . 

"One."  1 

the  latin  temperament 

Anarchism  seems  to  be  associated  with  the  artistic 
temperament,  and  among  the  Latins  it  attains  its  most 
lyrical  expression.  Anarchism  is  also  closely  associated 
with  the  aristocratic  temperament.  It  has  never  made 
much  headway  in  the  United  States  and  is  not  likely  to. 
Of  the  anarchist  movement  of  the  'seventies,  only  the 
Yiddish  Freie  Arheiter  Stimme  has  survived.  The  radi- 
cal Spanish  and  Italian  papers  which  appeared  during 
the  war  have  been  suppressed. 

For  Those  Who  Dare 

All  the  world  is  one's  country,  and  the  system  of  domination 
remains,  vile  and  reckless,  even  though  its  form  be  changed. 
Take  pride,  therefore,  in  the  statutory  liberties  brought  to 
Italy  by  the  revolver  shots  of  Gaetano  Bresci,  but  announce — 
if  ever  the  thought  which  knows  no  boundaries  takes  you  by 
the  hand  and  goes  beyond  your  habitual  composure  and  nig- 
gardly calculations — that  under  whatsoever  form  domination 
is  cloaked,  it  is  always  the  harsh  guardian  of  the  interest  of 
the  few,  to  the  detriment  of  the  universal  rights  of  the  lowly. 
It  is  this  selfish  German  dispensation  of  life  that  must  be 
destroyed  in  every  hemisphere,  in  every  latitude.  .  .  . 

To  nimbler  muscles,  and  nerves  more  tense,  is  left  the  solu- 
tion of  the  problem  which  the  blindness  of  fate  and  the  sal- 
vation of  humanity,  pregnant  with  incoercible  violence,  are 
precipitating  into  the  spasmodic  crisis  of  blood,  rage  and  hate. 
Those  Outlawed  by  Every  Law.  United  States 
OF  Amehica,  August,  1918.^ 

To  resign  ourselves  to  a  continuous  hunger,  to  allow  wife 
and  children  to  be  victims  of  tuberculosis,  scrofula,  and  rick- 

^  Toreritar  (Finnish-I.  W.  W.),  Astoria,  Oregon. 
*  Pamphlet  (Italian). 

245 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

ets  on  account  of  lack  of  wTaps  and  healthy  homes,  is  con- 
temptible cowardice,  is  race  suicide,  is  abasement  which  the 
proletariat  shall  not  accept  and  the  good  people  ought  not 
to  allow. 

It  is  better  to  die.  For  self-conservation  even,  it  is  better 
to  die.  And  if  we  are  going  to  die,  if  we  have  nerve  enough 
to  stop  this  life  of  sufferings  and  sorrows,  why  don't  we  seek 
those  who  are  evidently  responsible  for  such  disorders  and 
iniquities  and  execute  them!  ^ 

Joyous  Revenge 

Workingmen,  alert! 

This  is  our  cry  of  revolutionists,  of  combatants,  alert!  we 
cry  it  strongly  to-day  before  we  are  stopped,  rifle  in  hand,  to 
be  able  to  cry  later,  alert,  O  proletariat! 

On  this  May  1st,  sacred  to  human  hopes,  of  all  the  over- 
tired human  beings,  we  would  want  that  whoever  is  weighed 
vmder  the  yoke  of  the  triple  slavery — economic,  political,  and 
religious — to  follow  with  action  our  desp)erate  cry. 

We  would  want  that  the  proletariat,  our  brothers,  to  awake 
from  the  lethargy  in  which  they  live,  to  despoil  themselves  of 
their  prejudices  with  w-hich  they  are  imbued,  and  run  to  us 
regenerated  with  the  saintly  intention  to  fight  at  our  side  the 
hardest  battles  for  liberty  and  justice. 

We  would  want  that  this  May  1st  would  be  red  as  it  was 
dreamed  by  the  first  nationalists,  would  want  to  be  able  to 
adopt  the  sword  instead  of  the  pen,  would  want  to  have 
arrived  on  this  day,  to  be  able  to  avenge  with  our  blood  all 
our  martyrs,  those  who  before  us  were  victims  of  the  infamous 
actual  regime. 

We  would  want,  O  proletariats,  to  be  able  to  raise  the  red 
flag  on  all  the  bourgeois  ramparts  and  to  be  able  to  say,  as 
completed  fact,  "the  revolution  that  was,  has  transformed 
the  world." 

Workingmen,  alert!  Because  all  this  is  yet  only  a  realizable 
dream;  but  the  day  that  "other  druse  and  humble  cohorts, 
ready  for  battle,  will  come  from  the  furrows  and  from  the 

^  CuMura  Obrera  (Spanish-I.  W.  W.),  New  York  City. 
246' 


THE   CLASS  WAR 

hovels  to  justice  make."  Come  then,  on  this  day  of  May  1st; 
let  it  awaken  in  us  the  sleeping  energies;  let  it  renew  the  most 
generous  enthusiasm.  Nothing  is  dead  of  that  that  was 
said,  and  it  is  for  us  our  patrimonial  ideal. 

All  is  alive  around  us.  Not  before,  not  now,  that  the  work- 
ingmen  are  killing  for  a  cause  not  theirs;  not  after,  when  the 
interests  of  the  bourgeoisie  in  struggle  will  force  the  false 
peace  that  will  generate  more  hate,  more  wars;  nothing  for  us 
is,  or  will  be,  dead. 

We  will  yet  be  the  slaves,  the  derided,  the  exhausted.  The 
cross  and  the  sword,  increased  in  strength  and  audacity,  will 
strike  on  us  to  impose  as  yesterday,  as  to-day,  all  sorts  of 
infamy.    Know  how  to  gather  the  challenge,  O  proletariat. 

Never  better  moment  was  there  for  us  to  prepare  us  for  our 
war,  "war  of  classes,"  to  overthrow  thrones  and  altars.  Let 
tliem  begin  our  preparations  in  the  daily  struggles  against 
the  common  enemy. 

To  learn  how  to  hate,  hate,  always.  Hate  "God"  in  whose 
name  our  blood  is  drainerl;  hate  the  priest,  the  gnawing  can- 
cer of  humanity;  hate  the  state,  as  the  first  great  thief  among 
thieves;  hate  the  capitalism  that  is  the  father  of  the  state. 
Hate,  hate,  always — hate  for  the  enemy  of  our  cause,  the 
bourgeois  journalist,  the  disguised  democrat.  Hate  for  the 
politician  who  sells  himself  to  the  first  offerer — hate  for  all 
our  false  friends. 

In  the  hate  of  all  opponents  of  our  cause — which  is  of 
liberty,  of  justice,  of  love  and  common  brotherhood — is  found 
on  this  May  1st  of  death,  the  strength  to  resurrect  the  life. 

Life  that  has  to  serve  us  until  the  day  that,  tight  in  strong 
embrace,  we  will  ask  on  the  barricades,  together  with  the 
"poet,"  "No  more  bread,  but  blood,  blood — one  hour  only 
of  Joyous  Revenge." 

Workingmen,  alert!  May,  our  May  of  struggle  and  not 
of  feast,  of  battle  and  not  of  vain  bacchanals,  it  calls  you  to 
harvest. 

Workingmen,  alert!    He  who  is  not  with  us  is  against  us.* 

*  Guerra  di  Classe  (Italian-I.  W.  W.),  New  York  City. 


Part  in 

NATURAL    HISTORY    OF   THE    EMMIGRANT 
PRESS 


PRESS  ESTABLISHED  BY  THE  EARLY  IMMIGRANTS 

A  HISTORY  of  the  American  foreign-language  press  as  a 
whole  has  never  been  written.  It  is  not  likely  that  it 
ever  will  be;  the  difficulties  of  mastering  all  the  lan- 
guages are  too  great  for  a  single  individual.  Besides 
that,  the  personalities  involved  are  too  numerous  and 
too  unstable;  and  the  actual  interests  represented  too 
changing  and  divergent.  It  is  possible,  however,  to 
gather  materials  which  will  illustrate  the  tendencies  of 
the  press.  It  is  possible,  also,  to  reduce  individual  ex- 
amples to  general  types,  and  in  this  way  to  characterize 
them.  Since  the  press  reflects,  more  or  less  accurately, 
the  interests  and  social  condition  of  its  readers  at  the 
period  of  issue,  its  history  can  be  illuminated  by  some 
knowledge  of  the  people  who  established  and  supported 
it.  This  is  what  is  meant  by  the  natural  history  of  the 
press. 

Historically,  the  immigrant  press  falls  into  two  main 
divisions:  (1)  the  press  established  by  those  language 
groups  who  formed  the  bulk  of  immigration  before 
1870;  and  (2)  that  established  by  the  language  groups 
who  have  formed  the  bulk  of  immigration  since.  The 
immigrants  of  these  two  periods  have  ditlered,  not  only 
in  the  races  that  predominated,  but  in  their  motives  in 
immigrating  and  their  occupations  and  ways  of  hving 
in  this  country.  These  differences  have  affected  the 
development  of  their  respective  presses. 

The  date  of  the  establishment  of  the  oldest  existing 
daily  in  the  different  language  groups  serves  pretty  well 
17  251 


THE  IMJVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

to  date  the  beginning  of  each  press.    They  are  as  fol- 
lows: 

TABLE  IV 

Date  of  Origin  of  Oldest  Existing  Foreign-language  Daily  in 

Each  Language  Group ' 


Language 

Date  of  Origin 

Name  of  Paper 

French 

1828 

Conrrier  des  Etats-Unis 

German 

1834 

New  York  Staats-Zeitung  und  Herold 

Italian 

18.59 

Voce  del  Popolo 

Polish 

18G3 

Ameryka-Echo 

Bohemian 

1871 

Pokrok 

Norwegian  \ 
Danish        ) 

1871 

Skandinaven 

Yiddish 

1885 

Jeivish  Daily  News 

Slovak 

1889 

Sloimk  V  Amerike 

Armenian 

1889 

Ilairenik 

Hungarian 

1890 

Szabadsag  (Liberty) 

Lithuanian 

1892 

Lietuva 

Slovenian 

1892 

Glas  Naroda  (People's  Voice) 

Japanese 

1891, 

New  World 

Greek 

1894 

Atlantis 

Chinese 

1895 

Chinese  World 

Croatian 

1898 

Narodni  List 

Arabic 

1898 

Al-Hoda 

Finnish 

1900 

Pdivalehti 

Rumanian 

1905 

America 

Serbian 

1905 

Amerikansld  Srbobran 

Bulgarian 

1907 

Naroden  Glas 

Albanian 

1909 

Dielli  (The  Sun) 

Russian 

1910 

Russkoye  Slovo 

Spanish 

1912 

Prensa 

Ukrainian 

1919 

Ukrainian  Daily 

EELIGIOUS  PRESS  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  AND  EIGHTEENTH 
CENTURIES 

The  first  immigrants,  particularly  those  who  came  to 
America  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries, 

^American  Newspaper  Annual  and  Directory,  1920, N.W.Ayer  & 
Son. 

252 


ESTABLISHED  BY  EARLY  IMMIGRANTS 

were  composed  for  the  most  part  of  persecuted  sec- 
tarians, little  poor  peoples,  seeking  here  a  refuge  for 
their  obscure  and  strange  religious  practices.  They  were 
Mennonites,  German  and  Scandinavian  Quakers,  Schu- 
enkenfelders,  Dunkards,  and  a  little  later  Rappists,  all 
of  them  pietists  and  mystics. 

The  earliest  foreign-language  papers  were  distinctly 
religious  in  tone.  They  were  either  the  organs  of  the 
denominations  or  of  local  communities  dominated  by 
the  churches.  In  communities  like  those  of  the  Men- 
nonites, in  Pennsylvania,  where  the  Church  undertook 
to  impose  its  ritual  and  to  regulate  in  accordance  with 
its  traditions  all  affairs  of  daily  life,  the  distinction 
between  the  sacred  and  the  secular,  between  the  politi- 
cal and  religious,  as  we  understand  it,  did  not  exist. 

EARLY   GERMAN   PAPERS 

As  there  were  more  restless  religious  sects  in  Germany 
than  elsewhere,  the  tide  of  immigration  from  the  Ger- 
man states  were  proportionately  heavy,  and  the  Ger- 
man press  developed  early. 

Christopher  Sauer,  a  German  Quaker  of  German- 
town,  Pennsylvania,  began  in  1739  the  publication  of 
the  first  German  newspaper  in  the  United  States.  This 
was  thirty-five  years  after  the  Boston  News-Letter,  the 
first  English  newspaper,  had  been  started  in  Boston, 
and  at  this  time,  1739,  there  were  but  five  other  news- 
papers in  the  Colonies.  This  publication  was  the  first 
foreign  journal  in  the  United  States. 

Sauer  called  his  paper  The  High-German  Historian,  or 
Collection  of  Important  News  from  the  Kingdoms  of  Na- 
ture and  of  the  Church.^    In  those  days  nature  and  the 

^  Der  Uoch-Deutsche  Pennsylvanische  Geschicht-Schreiber,  oder  Samm- 
lung  u'ichtiger  nachrichten  aus  dem  N atur-und-Kirchen-Reich,  August 
20,  1739. 

253 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Church  covered  pretty  nearly  the  whole  field  of  recog- 
nized human  interests.  Four  years  later  a  rival  Ger- 
man periodical  was  started  in  Philadelphia,  but  Sauer's 
Historian,  or  Reporter,  as  he  later  called  his  paper — 
having  learned  in  the  meantime  the  difference  between 
news  and  historic  fact — still  continued  in  favor,  and 
eventually  attained  a  circulation  of  4,000.  The  Re- 
porter  was  read  in  all  the  little  scattered  German  com- 
munities, not  only  in  Pennsylvania,  but  in  New  York, 
Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia.  It  was  appar- 
ently the  one  means  by  which  these  isolated  settlements 
maintained,  for  a  while  at  least,  some  sort  of  contact 
and  community  of  interest  with  one  another  and  with 
the  home  country. 

Sauer's  enterprise  was  continued  and  extended  by 
his  son,  who  eventually  established  the  Geistliches  Maga- 
zin  (the  Religious  Magazine),  which  is  said  to  have 
been  the  first  religious  journal  in  any  language  in  the 
United  States.  As  the  number  of  German  religious 
colonies  grew,  the  German  newspapers  continued  to 
multiply.  In  1762  there  were  five  German  papers  in 
Pennsylvania — two  in  Philadelphia,  one  in  German- 
town,  and  two  in  Lancaster,  the  center  of  the  German 
rural  community  in  Pennsylvania.^ 

For  a  long  time  these  early  religious  communities 
held  aloof  from  political  activities,  desiring  only  to  be 
allowed  to  conduct  their  own  community  affairs  in 
accordance  with  their  religious  ideals.  They  partici- 
pated, however,  in  the  struggles  of  the  Colonies  for  in- 
dependence, and  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  older  generation  of  German  residents  in 
Pennsylvania  had  long  been  accustomed  to  take  a 
lively  interest  in  politics,  and  their  papers  were  party 


1  Albert  Bernhardt  Faust,  The  German  Element  in  the  United  States, 
1919,  p.  3G8. 

254 


ESTABLISHED  BY  EARLY  BIIMIGRANTS 

organs  of  the  most  pronounced  sort.^  In  1836  it  be- 
came customary  for  the  governors  to  print  their  mes- 
sages in  German  for  circulation  among  the  German  peo- 
ple. This  was  later  made  unnecessary  because  they 
were  printed  in  the  German  newspaper. 

After  the  outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution  German 
immigration  declined.  Gradually  connection  with  the 
mother  country  was  broken  off.  Meantime  the  language 
of  the  immigrants,  and  more  particularly  of  their  chil- 
dren, was  undergoing  marked  changes.  English  words 
with  German  inflections  were  creeping  into  the  common 
speech  and  even  corrupting  the  written  language. 
Many  of  the  "Pennsylvania  Dutch"  had  become  so 
completely  Americanized  in  the  early  part  of  the  last 
century  that  they  thought  their  language  was  a  native 
dialect,  and  that  they  were  the  only  Germans  in  the 
world.  It  is  related  that  a  German  traveler  of  this 
period  met  a  Pennsylvania  Dutchman  who,  noticing 
that  they  seemed  to  be  speaking  the  same  language, 
said  to  him: 

"You  speak  first-rate  German  (Deutsch).  How  long 
have  you  been  in  the  country.'" 

"About  six  months,"  was  the  reply. 

"Well,  I  am  surprised  that  you  speak  so  well." 

Under  the  influence  of  the  American  environment 
the  German  of  the  earher  settlers  lingered  on,  but  it 
became  a  distinct  mode  of  speech  with  a  distinct  litera- 
ture and  culture  of  its  own.^ 

In  1815  there  were  still  something  like  twenty-five 
German-American  newspapers  in  Pennsylvania  alone. 
All  these  were  at  that  time  printed,  to  a  greater  or  less 

^  Gustav  Korner,  Das  Deutsche  Elejnenl,  1818-83,  second  edition, 
p.  63. 

*  Daniel  Miller  (editor),  A  Collection  of  Pennsylvania  German  Pro- 
ductions in  Poetry  and  Prose,  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  1903.  See  Das 
Deutsche  Element  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaien,  p.  103. 

255 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

degree,  in  the  local  dialect.  Of  these  papers,  the  York 
Gazette,  established  in  1794,  and  Der  Reading  Adler 
(Reading  Eagle),  established  in  1795,  were  still  in 
existence  as  late  as  1909.^ 


THE   SCANDINAVIAN  PRESS 

The  Church  has  remained,  in  many  instances,  the  center 
of  the  intellectual  life  of  the  older  immigrant  peoples. 

Theological  discussion  and  the  conflicts  and  divisions 
within  the  Norwegian  Church  have,  from  the  first,  had 
an  important  place  in  the  attention  of  the  Norwegian 
community  and  of  the  Norwegian  press.  This  is  apt 
to  be  true  of  a  group  who,  like  the  Norwegians,  are  pre- 
eminently a  rural  folk.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  Nor- 
wegians that  of  all  their  papers  the  one  having  the 
largest  and  widest  circulation,  the  Decorah  Posten  og 
Ved  Amen,  should  be  published  in  a  small  town  in  Iowa. 
Decorah  had  a  population,  in  19''20,  of  4,039.  As 
Rev.  O.  M.  Norlie,  historian  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran 
Church  in  America,  put  it:  "There  are  very  few  Nor- 
wegian papers  that  do  not  still  give  a  good  deal  of  atten- 
tion to  religion." 

Nine  of  the  fifty  Norwegian  papers  listed  in  Ayer's  News- 
paper Annual  are  religious  papers.  There  are  Lutheran, 
Congregational,  and  Methodist  papers,  and  all  of  these  de- 
nominations are  strong  in  Norway.  There  is  considerable 
connection  between  the  Church  of  the  mother  country  and 
the  Church  of  this  country.  One  of  the  papers  is  a  mission 
paper.  ^ 

This  does  not  mean  that  other  interests  have  not 
been  represented.  As  early  as  1869  there  was  a  Nor- 
wegian-Danish free-thought  paper,  Daglyset,  pubhshed 

^  Georg  von  Basse,  Das  Deutsche  Element  in  den  Vereinigten  Staaien, 
Stuttgart,  Germany,  1908,  p.  111. 
*Sundby  Hansen  (interview). 

25a 


ESTABLISHED  BY  EARLY  EVIMIGRANTS 

in  Chicago.  There  have  been  ten  SociaHst  and  labor 
papers  started  at  various  times.  Two  of  these  were 
still  in  existence  in  1918.  The  Decorah  Posten  og  Ved 
Amen  itself,  estabhshed  in  1874,  was  and  is  a  secular 
paper. 

Of  the  472  publications  recorded  by  Rev.  O.  M.  Norlie  in 
a  survey  of  all  the  Norwegian  papers  that  have  existed  in  tlie 
United  States,  156  have  been  distinctly  reUgious  pap>ers,  while 
154  were  classed  as  secular.  Of  the  remainder,  15  were  tem- 
perance papers  and  31  were  literary  pubhcations,  including 
in  that  number  comic  papers  and  a  number  of  school  pubhca- 
tions. Among  the  other  publications  which  the  Norwegians 
have  at  various  times  maintained  are  a  single-tax  paper, 
Baneret,  published  at  Hatton,  North  Dakota,  from  1892  to 
1894;  a  saloon  paper,  Friheden,  published  in  Chicago  in  1870; 
one  anticlerical  sheet,  Vilcingen,  published  in  Minneapolis  in 
1905;  and  six  publications  devoted  to  music.  Of  the  472  pub- 
lications that  may  be  called  Norwegian — because  they  are 
published  for  Norwegians— 43  are  in  the  English  language. 
These  papers,  published  for  tlie  second  generation  of  Nor- 
wegian immigrants,  represent  the  efforts  of  the  Norwegian 
Church  and  of  the  Norwegian  community  to  make  the  transi- 
tion from  the  mother  tongue  to  the  language  of  the  adopted 
country  without  the  break  between  the  generations  which  is 
frequently  so  demoralizing  to  the  family  and  community  life 
of  the  immigrant. 

The  Norwegians  have  one  daily  paper,  Skandinaven, ioundedi 
by  John  Johnson  in  1866.  Johnson  came  to  America  from 
Voss,  Norway,  in  1845,  and  was  for  a  time  a  newsboy  and 
printer's  devil  in  Chicago.  In  1899,  when  the  paper  was  cele- 
brating its  one-third  centenary.  Senator  Knute  Nelson  of 
Minneapolis  said  Skandinaven  was  the  "largest  in  circulation 
and  in  contents  of  any  Norwegian  paper  in  the  world."  ^ 

Among  the  Swedish  and  Danish  peoples  secular  in- 
terests are  more  pronounced,  and  the  Church  has  played 

^  Algobe  Strand,  A  History  of  the  Norwegians  of  Illinois,  Chicago, 
1905,  p.  £67. 

257 


THE  i:mmigrant  press  and  its  control 

a  less  important  role  than  among  the  Norwegians.  One 
reason  for  this  is  that  Swedes  and  Danes,  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  the  Norwegians,  live  in  cities. 

Notwithstanding  the  relatively  early  rise  of  secular 
interests  among  the  Swedes,  all  the  early  Swedish 
papers  were  religious  journals. 

Up  to  1866  no  successful  attempt  had  been  made  to 
start  a  Swedish  newspaper  that  was  not  the  organ  of 
some  church  denomination.  Skandinaven  started  in 
New  York  City  in  1851,  aimed  to  be  independent  and 
secular,  but  discontinued  next  year.  It  was  difficult  to 
get  an  editor  for  a  secular  paper,  because  at  this  time 
most  Swedish-Americans  with  more  than  a  common- 
school  education  were  in  the  Church  either  as  teachers 
or  ministers.^ 

The  first  important,  and  in  many  respects  the  most  inter- 
esting, Swedish  paper  was  Gamla  och  Nya  Hemlandet  (The  Old 
and  New  Homeland).  This  paper  was  founded  at  Galesburg, 
Illinois,  in  1855.  In  1859  it  was  united  with  the  Minnesota- 
Posten,  established  at  Red  Wing,  Minnesota,  in  1857,  and  both 
papers  removed  to  Chicago,  where  the  paper  was  published 
by  the  Swedish  Lutheran  Publishing  House.  It  passed  through 
several  other  hands,  was  gradually  secularized,  but  retained 
to  some  extent  its  religious  tone  until  it  was  finally,  in  1914, 
merged  with  the  Svenska  Amerikanaren,  which,  with  the 
Svenska  Tribunen-Nyheter,  both  in  Chicago,  are  the  two 
largest  Swedish  papers  in  the  United  States.  It  is  said  of 
Hemlandet  that  it  was  more  Swedish  in  character  than  any 
other  paper  published  in  that  language  in  this  country. 

The  first  successful  attempt  to  establish  a  Swedish  secular 
paper,  not  imder  the  domination  of  the  Church,  was  made  in 
1866,  when  Col.  Hans  Matson,  later  secretary  of  state  in 
Minnesota,  became  editor  of  the  Svenska  Amerikanaren. 
There  was  at  this  time  a  young  Swedish  nobleman  named 
Herman  Roos  in  this  country.     He  had  the  reputation  of 

1  Ernst  W.  Olson,  History  of  the  Swedes  in  Illinois,  Chicago,  1908, 
.  vol.  i,  p.  783. 

258 


ESTABLISHED  BY  EARLY  BLVIIGRANTS 

being  a  free  lance,  who  wielded  a  slashing  pen,  but  was  known 
to  be  rather  irregular  in  his  habits.  It  seemed  best,  therefore, 
to  give  the  newspaper  standing  by  making  Col.  Hans  IVIatson 
editor,  with  the  expectation  that  Roos  would  conduct  the 
paper.  The  paper  did  not  live,  but  its  tradition  has  survived. 
The  best  representative  of  it  at  the  present  time  is  Alexander 
J.  Johnson,  editor  of  the  Svenska  Kuriren,  a  brilliant  WTiter 
and  enterprising  politician. 

The  Kuriren  started  as  a  comic  paper,  Kurre,  in  1884.  In 
1887  the  paper  clianged  its  character  and  assumed  its  present 
title.  Joluison  is  described  as  a  "temperamental  opportu- 
nist" who  writes  "bristling  editorials  which  are  generally  read 
and  approved."' 

An  interesting  thing  about  the  Scandinavian  immigrants  in 
general  and  the  Swedish  immigrants  in  particular  is  that  it 
is  possible  to  follow  in  the  history  of  the  press,  and  of  the 
editors  of  their  press,  the  processes  by  which  the  transition 
is  made  by  an  immigrant  population  from  the  language  of  the 
old  to  the  language  of  the  new  home  country.  Col.  Hans 
Matson,  who  in  the  course  of  his  varied  career  had  been  as- 
sociated with  many  journalistic  enterprises,  ended  by  found- 
ing a  paper  in  English  for  Americans  of  Scandinavian  origin. 
There  are  numerous  instances  of  men  of  Scandinavian  birth 
who  have  been,  at  diflFerent  times,  editors  of  English  and  of 
Scandinavian  publications.  Nicholay  A.  Gravstad,  editor  of 
Dagblader  in  Norway  in  1888,  of  the  Minneapolis  Tribune  in 
1892,  and  finally  of  the  Chicago  Sharuiinaven,  is  a  case  in 
point.  Edwin  Bjorkman,  who  was  on  the  staff  of  Aftonbladet 
in  Stockholm,  Sweden,  before  coming  to  America  in  1891. 
became  in  1892,  after  the  failure  of  the  Minnesota-Posten — 
of  which  he  was  editor  in  1892 — a  WTiter  on  the  Minneapolis 
Tiines,  and  had  made  a  reputation  as  a  writer  and  a  critic. 
A  list  of  the  English  papers  publishetl  in  the  Scandinavian 
communities  scattered  throughout  the  state  of  Minnesota 
will  reveal  the  fact  that  a  remarkably  large  number  of  them 
are  published  by  men  whose  names  indicate  that  they  are  of 
Swedish   or   Norwegian   descent.     Such   names   as   Nelson, 

^  Ernst  W.  Olson,  History  o/  the  Swedes  in  Illinois,  p.  683. 
259 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Larson,  Swenson,  Peterson,  Olsen,  Anderson,  Malmberg, 
Lundstrom,  Erickson,  Matson,  and  Johnson  are  very  fre- 
quent. Victor  E.  Lawsou,  publisher  and  editor  of  the  Chicago 
Daily  News,  is  perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  example.^ 


THE   FRENCH   PRESS 

After  the  German  and  Scandinavian,  the  most  impor- 
tant of  the  early  papers  were  French.  French  papers, 
particularly  the  French-Canadian  papers  which  repre- 
sent the  major  portions  of  the  French  population  in 
the  United  States,  have  remained  to  a  very  consider- 
able extent  under  the  influence  of  the  Church.  How- 
ever, they  have  been  influenced  by  a  tradition  difl'erent 
from  the  Scandinavian.  The  early  German  and  Scan- 
dinavian immigrants  were  largely  Protestants,  and  not 
merely  that,  but  they  were  Dissenters.  The  French, 
as  one  might  expect,  are  Catholics,  and  as  far  as  con- 
cerns the  Canadian  French  they  are  Catholics  of  the 
older  and  stricter  tradition,  without  modernist  reserva- 
tions or  qualifications.  Here,  as  among  the  Poles  and 
the  Irish,  loyalty  to  the  Church  is  identified  with  loyalty 
to  the  nationality;  and  religion  and  nationality,  espe- 
cially the  preservation  of  the  language,  are  the  domi- 
nant interests  of  the  French  Canadians  in  the  United 
States,  and  the  most  persistent  themes  for  discussion 
in  the  French-Canadian  press. 

An  article  upon  the  French  Catholics  of  the  United 
States  in  The  Catholic  Encyclopo'dia,  published  in  1909, 
makes  the  statement  that  at  that  time  there  were  seven 
daily  and  eighteen  weekly  or  semiweekly  French  papers 
"that  are  not  surpassed,  from  the  Catholic  point  of  view, 
by  those  of  any  other  group  of  immigrants  in  the 
United  States." 


^  Albert  B.  Faust,  The  German  Element  in  the  United  States,  vii, 
pp.  158,  374. 

260 


ESTABLISHED  BY  EARLY  EVIlSnGRANTS 

These  newspapers  are  thoroughly  Catholic  in  spirit,  as  well 
as  sincerely  American.  Their  editors  and  publishers  met  in 
convention  at  Woonsocket,  Rhode  Island,  on  September  25, 
1906,  and  organized  the  Association  des  Journalistes  Franco- 
Aviericaiiis  de  la  Nouvelle  Anglderre.  At  that  meeting  they 
adopted  resolutions  asserting  their  loyalty  to  the  republic, 
and  advising  the  French  Americans  to  show  themselves  true 
and  sincere  American  citizens,  to  promote  naturalization,  to 
preserve  their  mother  tongue,  to  learn  the  English  language, 
to  maintain  parochial  schools,  wherein  both  languages  should 
be  taught  on  an  equal  footing,  and  to  ask  for  priests  of  their 
own  nationality  to  be  their  pastors. 

The  first  French  newspaper  to  appear  in  the  United  States 
was  Le  Courrier  de  Boston,  which  was  published  weekly  during 
a  period  of  six  montlis  in  1789,  the  first  number  appearing  on 
April  23d,  and  the  last  on  October  15th.  The  editor  and 
publisher  was  Paul  Joseph  Guerard  de  Nancrede,  later  a 
bookseller  and  stationer  at  Boston,  and  instructor  m  French 
at  Harvard  University  from  1787  to  1800.  The  next  French- 
American  newspaper  was  published  in  1825,  at  Detroit,  imder 
the  title  of  La  Gazette  Franraise,  which  issued  only  four 
numbers.  In  1817  the  Detroit  Gazette  published  a  French 
column  during  four  months  and  then  abandoned  the  venture. 
The  second  French-American  newspaper  in  New  England  was 
Le  Patriate,  published  at  St.  Albans,  Vermont,  in  1839. 


IMMIGRATIOX  IN  THE  EARLY  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 

The  first  immigrants  sought  in  America  religious  tolera- 
tion. The  immigrants  who  succeeded  them  came  in 
search  of  political  freedom.  They  were,  for  the  most  *^ 
part,  land-hungry  Scandinavian  and  German  peasants, 
seeking  in  the  New  World  a  new  home.  But  there  was 
a  sprinkling  of  politically  restless  German  intellectuals, 
the  forerunners  of  the  political  refugees  of  1848.  Among 
them  were  many  educated  men.  Most  of  these  became 
teachers  or  journalists. 

German   radicalism   at  this   time  was   anticlerical. 
261 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

One  of  the  early  German  radical  papers  was  Lichl  Freund 
(the  Friend  of  Light),  published  by  Eduard  Miihl,  in 
Cincinnati. 

In  1843  this  paper  was  transferred  from  Cincinnati 
to  Hermann,  one  of  the  early  German  settlements  in 
Missouri,  which  was  expressly  founded  to  be  a  center 
of  German  culture  in  America.  However,  it  soon  ap- 
peared that  "the  country  was  too  young  to  jBnd  time  or 
pleasure  in  such  heavy  discussion  as  Licht  Freund 
offered,"  and  in  1845  Editor  Miihl  abandoned  the  en- 
terprise and  established  the  Hermanner  Wochenhlatt 
(Hermann  Weekly  Journal),  which  "presented  but  few 
characteristics  of  the  old  paper,  being  a  carrier  of  news 
in  the  general  sense."  The  paper  has  been  continued 
under  the  title  of  Volksblatt  (the  People's  Paper),  and 
an  English  paper.  The  Advertising-Courier,  is  now  pub- 
lished under  the  same  management. 

Licht  Freund,  an  org?  German  free  thought,  was 

succeeded  by  a  provincia.  ^aper,  which  eventually 

made  room  for  a  paper  in  Lxigush,  dealing  with  the 
ordinary  commonplace  interests  of  a  rural  community. 
The  whole  incident  is  characteristic  of  the  evolution  of 
the  foreign-language  press  from  discussion  of  theoreti- 
cal interests  to  those  of  everyday  affairs. 

THE    BOHEMIAN   PRESS 

At  the  time  of  the  first  Bohemian  immigration,  1845  to 
1860,  German  was  the  literary  language  of  Bohemia. 
The  nationalist  revival  of  the  folk  language  was  already 
on  its  way,  but  had  not  yet  arrived.  German  was  at 
that  time,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  lingua-franca  of  the 
intellectuals  of  eastern  Europe.  This  explains  why  the 
first  Bohemian  paper,  the  Milwaukee  Flugbldtter,  was 
printed  in  German  rather  than  Czech. 

The  Flugbldtter,  published  in  Racine,  was  edited  by 
262 


ESTABLISHED  BY  EARLY  L^jmIGRANTS 

a  political  refugee,  Vojta  Naprstek.  Like  Miihrs  Friend 
of  Light,  it  was  anticlerical  and  sufficiently  radical  to 
be  made  the  subject  of  heated  debates  in  the  Wisconsin 
legislature  in  1854,  when  an  effort  was  made — which 
was  not  successful — to  exclude  it  from  the  mails.  One 
thing  that  explains  the  radicalism  of  the  Flugbldtter  is 
the  fact  that,  being  German,  it  was  read,  for  the  most 
part,  by  workmen  and  intellectuals.  Most  of  these 
were  anticlerical.  The  immigrants  from  the  rural  com- 
munities, who  did  not  know  German,  supported  the 
Church  then  as  they  do  now. 

The  first  newspaper  in  the  Czech  language,  Slovan 
Amerikansky  (the  American  Slav),  was  published 
January  1,   1860. 

Frank  Korizek,  founder  of  the  American  Slav — the  first  Czech 
newspaper  in  America — ha.  1  been  a  stone  mason  and  an  odd-job 
man  in  a  provincial  towTi  befo'*'*  "^rvming  to  this  country.  "He 
learned  to  set  type  in  the  s^'  'he  National  Demolcrat  (tlie 

National  Democrat),  a  <^[  weekly  pubUshed  in  Racine. 

Hearing  that  •stored  '  tJenftid  the  sacristy  of  a  Milwaukee 
church  was  a  hand  printing  press,  the  property  of  a  priest, 
Korizek  decided  to  buy  it.  The  price  of  the  press  was  $140. 
He  had  a  few  dollars  laid  aside,  which  he  had  earned  as  a 
musician,  and  with  loans  and  gifts  from  friends,  he  succeeded 
in  raising  $40.  For  the  balance  of  the  purchase  price — that  is, 
$100 — Korizek  gave  the  priest  a  mortgage  on  his  cottage. 

The  type  was  German,  or  kurent  (current),  as  the  old  folks 
used  to  call  German  script.  Twenty-four  numbers  of  the 
paper  Korizek  edited  and  set  up,  along  with  only  such  small 
outside  help  as  Joseph  Satron  (tailor)  and  Vaclav  Simonek 
(school-teacher)  were  able  to  render.  In  the  daytime  he 
worked  in  the  printing  shop;  evenings  he  was  kept  busy 
reading  and  writing  by  candlelight,  except  when  he  was 
engaged  to  play,  for  music  still  assured  the  sole  dependable 
means  of  a  livelihood  and  he  felt  he  must  not  neglect  it.^ 

^  Thomas  Capek,  The  Czechs  [Bohemians]  in  America,  1920,  p. 
169  ff. 

263 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

A  month  after  the  beginning  of  this  project,  the 
Czechs  of  St.  Louis  launched  the  Narodni  Noviny  (the 
National  Gazette).  Eighteen  months  later  these  papers 
were  combined  in  the  Slavie,  which  is  now  the  oldest 
existing  Czech  paper  in  the  United  States.  Between 
1860  and  the  spring  of  1911,  according  to  Capek,  326 
Bohemian  papers  have  come  into  existence.  Of  these 
51  still  survived  in  1920. 

Bohemian  immigration  began  in  1845  and  was  permeated 
by  a  sprinkling  of  the  national  radicals  of  1848,  many  of  them 
ex-priests,  who  wished  to  free  the  serfs  and  shake  off  the 
clergy,  and  have  a  constitutional  government. 

Not  until  the  'sixties  were  Bohemian  papers  really  estab- 
lished. The  Slavie  of  1862  still  exists,  but  it  was  a  one-man 
paper.  Its  significance  dwindled  after  Jonas'  retirement. 
Jonas  was  the  first  great  Bohemian,  as  Carl  Schurz  was  the 
first  great  German,  in  this  country.  The  Amerikan  of  1865, 
which  was  once  a  radical  rationalist  paper,  is  now  a  paper  for 
the  agricultural  public.  It  has  never  given  up  its  policy  in 
regard  to  the  clergy  and  religion,  although  its  tone  is  more 
moderate  than  formerly.  The  Slovan  Americky  of  1869, 
which  was  an  anticlerical  paper,  has  become  a  local  family 
paper. 

Four  of  the  papers  established  in  the  'seventies  are  still  in 
existence — the  Hlas,  a  Catholic  paper  of  1872;  the  Svornost, 
an  anticlerical  paper  of  1875,  which  is  now  a  successful  daily; 
the  Duch  Casu,  a  free-thought  organ  of  1876,  which  is  now  a 
middle-class  paper  and  carries  fifty-six  and  a  half  columns  of 
fiction;  and  the  Rodina,  which  is  now  a  family  paper  carrying 
thirty-one  columns  of  fiction. 

The  'eighties  was  the  era  of  Socialist  papers.  In  1883-84, 
Socialist  radicals  fled  to  the  United  States.  The  Hlas  Lidu 
was  established  by  the  first  of  these  Socialist  radicals  who 
escaped  from  prison  and  came  to  the  United  States.  The 
Hlas  Lidu  was  a  very  radical  paper  up  to  the  time  of  Koch- 
man's  retirement  in  1913.  The  Spravcdlnost,  founded  in  1887 
by  another  exile,  took  its  cue  from  the  Haymarkct  affair  of 
1886  and  was  never  as  outspoken  as  the  Hlas  Lidu. 

204 


ESTABLISHED  BY  EARLY  IMMIGRANTS 

In  the  'nineties  an  anarchist  paper  was  established — the 
Volne  Listy — which  carried  on  its  title  sheet  the  words, 
"Printed  in  the  interests  of  anarchy."  After  running  twenty 
years  it  was  discontinued  during  the  war.^ 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  Bohemian  anticlericalism, 
the  form  which  radicalism  assumed  among  the  earlier 
Bohemian  immigrants,  seems  to  have  had  its  origin 
largely  in  this  country.  At  least,  it  was  in  America 
that  the  movement  for  free  thought  first  found  wide- 
spread support  among  the  masses  of  the  people. 

The  first  Bohemian  papers,  including  the  Slavic,  were 
mildly  nationalistic,  but  in  1867  the  journal  Pokrok 
(Progress),  established  by  Joseph  Pastor,  came  out 
openly  and  violently  against  the  Church.  Other  papers 
followed,  and  from  that  time  "every  newcomer  in  the 
journalistic  field  who  had  set  out  to  serve  the  'interests 
of  Czechoslavs  in  America'  was  obliged  to  choose  one 
or  the  other  camp." 

The  primary  cause — the  causa  causans — of  the  alienation 
lies  deep  in  the  nation's  past.  .  .  .  Though  he  may  not  be 
conscious  of  it,  the  truth  of  the  matter  is  that  the  Czech's 
inclination  to  dissent,  to  question,  to  challenge,  to  dispute, 
is  largely  inherited  from  his  Hussite  forefathers.  In  the 
American  Czech  these  tendencies  burst  forth  with  elemental 
strength  the  moment  he  landed  in  America,  where  he  could 
speak,  act,  and  think  free  from  the  oppression  to  which  he 
was  subject  in  his  native  land.'' 

ESTABLISHMENT   OF   THE   GERMAN   DAILIES 

Most  of  the  important  papers  of  the  early  immigrants 
date  back  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Of 
the  big  German  dailies,  only  two  were  established  after 

^  Thomas  Capek  (interview) . 

2  Thomas  Capek,  The  Czechs  in  America.  1920,  p.  122  ff. 
265 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


1870,  and  those  were  in  cities  that  already  had  daily 
papers. 

TABLE  V 
Dates  of  Origin  of  Big  German  Dailies^ 


Name 


Year 


Published  at 


Circu- 
lation 


New  York  Staals-Zeitung  und  Ilcrold. 

Westlkhe  Post 

Volkublati 

(Merged  with  Freie  Presse) 

Illinois  Staats-Zeiiung 

Wdchter  und  Anzeiger 

Herold 

Abend  Post 

Amerika 

Ahendpost 


1834 
1834 
1836 

1847 
1852 
1861 
1866 
1872 
1889 


New  York 
St.  Louis 
Cincinnati 

Chicago 

Cleveland 

Milwaukee 

Detroit 

St.  Louis 

Chicago 


21,590 


18,059 
31,483 
27,000 
21,039 
48,262 


The  New  York  Staats-Zeiiung  und  Herold  was,  up 
to  the  war,  the  largest  German  daily.  It  was  founded 
in  1834  by  Jakob  Uhl.  After  1859  it  was  owned  by 
Oswald  Ottendorfer,  an  Austrian,  and  the  present  own- 
ers are  the  Ridder  family. 

St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati  were  centers  of  the  German 
press  during  the  Civil  War.  St.  Louis'  oldest  paper  is 
the  Wesiliche  Post  of  1834,  of  which  Carl  Schurz  was 
an  editor.  The  Amerika,  a  very  ably  edited  Catholic 
daily,  was  not  established  until  much  later.  The  Cin- 
cinnati Volkshlatt  of  1836  was  later  merged  with  the 
Freie  Presse,  and  is  now  the  only  daily  in  Cincinnati. 
The  early  German  immigrants  took  a  very  active  part 
in  American  party  politics.  The  Germans  of  Ohio  sided 
with  the  North  in  the  Civil  War  and  became  Republi- 
cans. Markbreit,  who  was  also  a  mayor  of  Cincinnati, 
was  editor  of  the  Cincinnati  Volkshlatt. 


^  American  Newspaper  Annual  and  Directory,  1920,  N.  W.  Ayer  & 
Son. 

266 


ESTABLISHED  BY  EARLY  IMJVIIGRANTS 

Ohio  and  Milwaukee  became  the  press  centers  of  the 
Middle  West  in  the  'fifties  and  'sixties.  The  Illinois 
Staats-Zeitung  is  an  old  and  famous  daily.  It  was 
founded  in  1847  by  Brentano,  Schneider,  and  A.  C. 
Hessing,  and  was  originally  Socialistic.  Brentano  and 
two  of  the  first  editors — Wilhelm  Rapp  and  Hermann 
Resper — were  'forty-eighters.  The  paper  did  not  re- 
main Socialistic;  it  became  Republican.  Brentano's 
son  was  elected  as  a  judge,  and  Hessing's  son  ran  for 
mayor  on  the  Republican  ticket.  In  1898  the  paper 
was  merged  with  the  Freie  Presse,  of  which  jNIichaelis 
was  the  owner.  It  gradually  ceased  to  concern  itself 
with  politics,  and  became  very  nationalistic.  Publica- 
tion was  suspended  for  a  time  during  the  war  because 
of  business  difficulties,  but  the  paper  is  now  being  pub- 
lished again.  The  Ahendpost  was  established  forty- 
two  years  after  the  Staats-Zeitung.  It  was  not  national- 
istic like  the  Staats-Zeitung,  and  at  present  it  has  the 
largest  circulation  of  any  German  daily. 

Paul  INIueller,  the  editor  of  the  Chicago  Abend  post, 
says  that  there  was  a  change  in  the  German-American 
press  after  the  Franco-Prussian  War  of  1871.  From 
that  time  on  it  began  to  carry  more  German  than 
American  news  and  to  become  nationalistic.  This,  he 
thinks,  was  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  many  of  the 
editors  who  replaced  the  old  'forty-eighters  were  ex- 
army  officers.  These  officers  came  to  the  United  States 
after  1871 — many  of  them  because  of  debts  or  dis- 
grace, or  to  escape  military  service — and  drifted  into 
journalism. 

When  the  war  of  1914  broke  out,  the  Cleveland 
Wdchter  und  Anzeiger,  which  was  founded  in  1852,  and 
the  great  Milwaukee  Her  old  of  1861  had  as  editors 
two  former  Prussian  army  officers.  Von  Noske  and  Von 
Schlenitz,  As  these  men  were  very  nationalistic  and 
neither  of  them  had  been  naturalized,  the  owners 
18  267 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

thought  it  better  to  engage  other  editors.  Mueller  says 
he  is  waiting  anxiously  to  see  whether  there  will  be  a 
new  type  of  German  editor.  This  depends  on  whether 
there  is  any  fresh  immigration  of  German  intellectuals 
and  journalists. 

OUTGROWING   RADICALISM 

Immigrant  papers  are  likely  to  be,  at  the  outset,  radical 
in  either  a  secular  or  a  religious  field.  They  represent 
the  ideas  and  the  ideals  for  which  immigrants  have 
sought  space  and  air  in  the  New  World.  As  the  social 
routine  re-establishes  itself,  however,  and  the  respon- 
sive social  tensions  relax,  the  interests  which  find  ex- 
pression in  the  immigrant  press  become  more  prosaic 
and  practical.  The  immigrant  groups  examined  in 
this  chapter  have  been  settled  long  enough  for  this 
tendency  to  assert  itself  in  their  press.  It  is  part  of  the 
natural  history  of  the  press. 


XI 

THE  LATER  IMiHGRANT  PRESS 

The  first  immigrants  came  to  America  for  various  rea- 
sons— economic,  political,  and  religious;  but  they  came 
to  stay.  This  has  not  been  true,  to  the  same  extent,  of 
their  successors.  After  the  Civil  War  it  was  not  so 
easy  to  get  land  and  it  was  easier  to  get  work.  The 
consequence  is  that  the  recent  immigrants,  instead  of 
settling  on  the  land,  have  remained  in  the  cities.  When 
the  country  was  prosperous  they  earned  good  wages; 
when  times  were  hard  many  of  them  returned  to  homes 
in  Europe.  With  what  they  had  earned  in  a  few  years 
in  America  they  were  able  to  become  landowners  in 
the  communities  where  they  had  formerly  been  tenant- 
farmers  or  laborers. 

In  the  long  run,  the  change  in  the  direction  of  the 
immigrant's  interest  has  profoundly  altered  his  attitude 
toward  American  life. 

The  nature  of  our  activities,  both  private  and  public,  is 
determined  primarily  by  our  purpose  and  intentions  regard- 
ing the  future.  If  an  immigrant  intends  to  remain  perma- 
nently in  the  United  States  and  become  an  American  citizen, 
he  naturally  begins  at  once,  often  indeed  before  he  leaves 
Europe,  to  fit  himself  for  the  conditions  of  his  new  life,  by 
learning  the  language  of  the  coimtry,  studying  its  institutions, 
and  later  on  by  uivesting  his  savings  in  America  and  by 
planning  for  the  future  of  his  children  in  such  a  way  that 
they  may  have  advantages  even  better  than  his  own.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  he  intends  his  sojourn  in  this  country  to 

269 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

be  short,  a  matter  of  a  few  months  or  a  few  years,  naturally 
his  whole  outlook  upon  American  institutions  and  American 
life  is  changeil.  He  will  wish  to  secure  in  America  that  which 
will  be  of  chief  use  to  him  after  his  return  to  his  home  coun- 
try, and  not  that  which  would  ultimately  serve  him  best 
here.  The  acquisition  of  the  English  language  will  be  of 
little  consequence  unless  it  might  secure  a  slight  increase  of 
wages,  and  the  acquirement  of  a  year  or  two  would  scarcely 
suffice  for  any  important  change  in  this  regard.  Naturally, 
the  chief  aim  of  a  person  with  this  intention  is  to  put  money 
in  his  purse;  to  secure  as  much  wealth  as  possible  in  this 
country,  not  for  investment  here,  but  for  investment  in  his 
home  country,  so  that  upon  his  return  he  may  possess  a  better 
economic  and  social  status.' 

The  impermanence  of  the  newer  immigrants  and 
their  position  as  industrial  workers  account  for  the 
charactej  of  their  press. 

Even  when  there  is  no  indication  in  the  title,  the  con- 
tents show  that  the  press  of  the  recent  immigrants  is 
mainly  concerned  with  politics  in  the  home  countries. 
As  domestic  politics  in  most  so-called  immigrant  coun- 
tries revolve  about  the  struggles  of  the  nationalities 
and  of  the  classes,  it  is  with  those  matters — i.e.,  with 
nationalism  and  Socialism,  that  the  press  of  the  recent 
immigrants  is  mainly  concerned. 

These  interests  are  strengthened  by  the  conditions 
of  their  life  in  America.  It  is  among  the  newer  immi- 
grant populations,  not  permanently  settled  in  this 
country,  and  still  keenly  interested  in  the  condition 
and  ambitions  of  the  home  country,  that  the  national- 
ist movements  and  the  foreign-language  nationalist 
press  find  their  support.  It  is  to  the  shifting  tide  of 
mobile  immigrant  laborers,  the  transient  inhabitants 


'  Jeremiah  W.  Jenks  and  W.  Jett  Lauck,  The  Immigration  Prob- 
lem, 1917,  pp.  36-37. 

270 


THE  LATER  IMMIGRAJNT  PRESS 

of  our  industrial  cities,  that  the  Socialistic  and  indus- 
trial radical  press  makes  its  appeal. 


NATIONALISM 

The  nationalism  of  the  immigrants  has  found  expres- 
sion in  connection  with  various  ideas  and  organizations. 
The  Bohemians  and  the  Irish  seem  to  have  been  the 
first  nationalists,  and  after  them  the  Poles.  The  first 
Bohemian  nationalists  were  anticlericals  and  "free- 
thinkers." In  the  case  of  the  Poles,  on  the  other  hand, 
nationalism  has  been  identified  with  the  Church.  In 
fact,  religion  and  nationality  in  Poland  are  so  thor- 
oughly identified  that  the  Poles  have  always  endeav- 
ored, according  to  Ralph  Butler,  to  identify  "Pole," 
"Latin,"  and  "Catholic,"  so  that  a  Russian  who  was 
not  a  Greek,  but  a  Latin,  Catholic  would  frequently 
call  himself  a  Pole.  The  Polish  priests  encouraged  him 
to  do  so.^ 

On  the  whole,  however,  it  is  the  nationalist  societies 
that  have  organized  and  given  the  most  aggressive 
expression  to  the  nationalist  sentiments  of  the  immi- 
grants. Every  language  group  in  tiie  United  States 
maintains  some  sort  of  nationalist  organization.  These 
societies  either  estiiblish  journals  of  their  own  or  they 
make  some  journal  already  established  theirs. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  these  papers  is  the 

Zgoda,  which  was  established  in  1878  as  the  organ  of 

the   Polish   National   Alliance.     Before   the   war   this 

paper  had  a  circulation  of  100,000,  but  the  interest  in 

the  news  and  the  nationalistic  issue  during  the  war 

added  considerably  to  the  membership  of  the  Alliance, 

and  the  circulation  is  now  125,000.    The  Zgoda  had  a 

hold  over  such  a  large  reading  public  that  in  1908  the 

directors  of  the  Polish  National  Alliance  decided  to 

1  Ralph  Butler,  The  New  Eastern  Europe,  1919,  p.  65. 
271 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

establish  a  daily  edition.  The  daily  Zgoda  has  a  circu- 
lation of  over  40,000,  and  only  half  of  its  readers  are  in 
Chicago.  Its  circulation  now  rivals  that  of  the  Ameryka- 
Echo,  which  was  established  in  1863,  and  which  also 
has  a  circulation  of  40,000. 

Among  the  Slavic  peoples,  at  least,  the  nationalistic 
societies  are  more  than  cultural  or  patriotic  societies. 
They  are  fraternal  organizations,  federated  mutual-aid 
societies,  and  each  little  unit  of  the  national  society  is 
likely  to  function  also  as  a  social  club.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  of  these  is  the  National  Croatian  Society. 

When  the  young  men  left  Croatia  to  come  to  America, 
they  left  in  swarms.  Hundreds  from  a  neighborhood  of  ten 
to  fifteen  miles  round  about  started  out  together.  Every- 
where men  from  the  neighborhood  were  working  and  living 
together.  They  lived  in  box  cars  and  lodging  houses.  They 
had  no  women.  Not  till  they  had  been  here  for  some  years 
did  some  go  back  to  select  a  girl  from  their  home  tovvn,  where 
there  were  many  unmarried  girls  waiting. 

One  of  the  first  things  that  the  Croatian  peasant  or  moun- 
taineer discovered  was  that  when  he  got  sick  there  was  no 
household  group  to  take  care  of  him.  He  was  dependent  on 
the  good  offices  of  his  companions,  who  were  not  as  close  to 
him  as  his  family  had  been.  So  mutual  benefit  societies  were 
established  which  provided  for  him  in  case  of  sickness  or 
death. 

It  was  quite  natural  that  men  who  had  come  over  together, 
who  had  the  same  boyhood  memories,  and  who  had  settled 
in  the  same  place  in  the  United  States,  should  have  an  or- 
ganization together.  The  Dalmatians  of  St.  Louis  called 
theirs  the  St.  Simone  Society.  The  men  from  the  Croatian 
seacoast  called  theirs  Krsno  Primorje,  which  means  "Stony 
Seashore." 

In  1894  some  Croatians  in  Pittsbin*gh  were  fired  by  rivalry. 
They  saw  that  the  Bohemians  and  Poles  had  combined  their 
local  benefit  societies  into  a  national  benefit  s<x;iety,  which 
gave  them  a  center.  They  felt  that  the  Croatians  in  the 
United  States  were  a  country  without  a  capital.    So  they  met 

272 


THE  LATER  IMIVIIGRANT  PRESS 

together,  elected  officers  from  their  own  number,  took  out  a 
charter,  and  then  sent  notices  to  the  four  or  five  benefit 
societies  that  they  knew  of  to  join  them.  Financially,  the 
centraUzation  consisted  in  having  sick  benefits  administered 
by  the  local  group  and  death  benefits  emanate  from  the 
National  Croatian  Society  itself. 

The  Croatians  at  this  time  had  no  real  way  of  knowing 
where  other  colonies  of  their  fellow  countrymen  were  located. 
The  first  twenty  locals  that  joined  were  all  located  around 
Pittsburgh,  in  Pennsj'lvania.  But  as  more  and  more  local 
societies  joined  and  were  formed,  the  situation  became  more 
defined ;  there  are  now  branches  in  twenty-six  states.  Penn- 
sylvania has  144  branches;  Illinois,  85. 

As  the  organization  grew  it  became  more  and  more  difficult 
to  handle  the  business  by  correspondence,  and  it  was  decided 
to  publish  a  paper  which  should  contain  news  of  organizations 
all  over  the  country.  The  paper  (Zajednicar)  was  then  estab- 
lished in  1904.  Thirty-four  of  its  5G  columns  are  taken  up 
with  the  affairs  of  the  National  Croatian  Society.  Account- 
ing moneys,  G  1/3  columns.  Accounting  in  regard  to  mem- 
bers, 7  1/6  columns.  Addresses  of  local  societies,  20  columns. 
Advertisements  of  books  for  keeping  accounts,  2/3  column. 
Total,  34  columns. 

The  other  twenty-two  columns  of  the  paper  discuss  the 
situation  of  the  Croatian  workers  in  the  United  States  in 
relation  to  the  confiict  between  capital  and  labor,  and  the 
situation  in  the  home  country.  There  are  always  letters  from 
the  readers.  There  is  some  fiction.  In  the  issue  of  October 
6,  1919,  it  was  a  story  by  one  of  the  readers  dealing  with  the 
period  following  the  invasion  of  Bosnia,  entitled,  "The  Beg 
and  the  Begger." 

It  is  true  that  many  of  the  Croatians  cannot  read,  even 
though  as  members  of  the  society  they  may  receive  the  paper. 
But  there  is  always  some  man  in  the  lodging  house  who  reads 
the  Croatian  and  American  papers  aloud,  and  so  everyone 
hears  the  news. 

When  the  paper  was  first  established  it  was  decided  to  tax 
the  members  for  it,  and  so  they  pay  four  cents  a  month  in 
its  support.    This  makes  a  revenue  of  $25,000  a  year,  and  as 

273 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

the  paper  has  long  been  established  and  there  is  no  further 
cost  for  equipment,  tlie  $!25,000  a  year  provided  for  good 
editing  and  ^VTiting. 

The  paper  accepts  no  advertisements  and  it  is  for  this 
reason,  no  doubt,  tliat  it  is  not  listed  in  Ayer's  Xeuspaper 
Annual,  although  it  has  a  circulation  of  something  like  50,000 
among  the  members  of  the  National  Croatian  Society. 

The  National  Croatian  Society  is  the  only  national  benefit 
society  of  that  language  group  in  America,  and  its  territory 
extends  all  over  the  United  States,  except  at  the  edges,  where 
it  crumbles.  As  a  result  of  this,  the  Zajednicar  reaches  a 
larger  proportion  of  its  group  than  do  the  other  organs  of 
their  groups. ^ 

INDUSTRIAL   RADICALISM 

The  radicals  among  the  earlier  immigrants  were  anti- 
clericals — notably  among  the  Bohemians — or  they  were 
constitutional  republicans,  like  Carl  Schurz  and  the 
German  revolutionists  of  1848.  The  radicalism  of  the 
recent  immigrants  has  been  industrial  and  political — 
that  is  to  say,  the  radicalism  of  the  wage  earner  and  the 
proletarian. 

In  the  'eighties  Socialism  began  to  assume,  in  the 
United  States,  the  character  and  the  proportions  of  a 
class  movement.  There  was  at  this  time  a  condition 
of  profound  unrest  in  Europe.  It  manifested  itself  in 
1878  in  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  assassinate  the  Ger- 
man Emperor  William  I.  This  act  of  terrorism  was 
followed  in  March,  1881,  by  a  similar,  and  in  this  case 
successful,  attack  upon  Tsar  Alexander  II  of  Russia. 
These  attacks  provoked  a  crusade  against  Socialists  in 
Germany  and  revolutionists  in  Russia.  INIany  of  the 
leaders  came  to  America  to  escape  persecution  at 
home. 


1  Winifred  Rauschenbusch,  Notes  on  the  Foreign-Language  Press  in 
America  (manuscript). 

274 


THE  LATER  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 

The  early  Socialist  papers  in  the  United  States  were  mostly 
German.  The  first  of  them  seems  to  have  been  the  Republik 
der  Arheiter  (RepubHc  of  Labor),  established  in  New  York  in 
1851  as  the  organ  of  the  Central  Committee  of  the  United 
Trades.  This  was  probably  the  first  Socialist  paper  in  the 
United  States.  The  oldest  existmg  Socialist  paper  is  the 
German  Vorbote,  now  the  weekly  edition  of  the  Arbeiter 
Zeiiung,  which  was  established  in  1872. 

Between  1876  and  1877  about  twenty-four  papers  supported 
the  party  (Socialist  Labor  party  of  North  America) :  of  these, 
eight  were  in  the  English  language  (one  daily,  seven  weeklies), 
foiu*teen  were  printed  in  German,  seven  of  them  dailies — 
Chicago  Sozialist  and  Chicago  Volkszeitung,  Volkestimme  des 
Westens  (St.  Louis),  Neue  Zeit  (Louisville),  Philadelphia 
Tageblatt,  Vorvaerts  (Newark),  Ohio  Vollcszeitung  (Cincinnati). 
The  Bohemians  and  the  Scandinavians  each  had  a  weekly 
Socialistic  paper.  In  1878  a  new  daily,  the  New  Yorker  Volks- 
zeitung, was  established  in  the  interests  of  Socialism  and 
trades-unions.  With  brilliant  editors  such  as  Alexander  Jones, 
Doctor  Douai,  and  at  the  death  of  the  latter  Hermann 
Schuter,  the  Volkszeitung  at  once  assumed  the  leadership  of 
the  Socialist  movement,  and  has  kept  it  to  the  present  day.^ 

Among  the  refugees  was  Johann  Most,  who  had  just 
completed  a  sixteen  months'  sentence  at  hard  labor  in 
London  for  an  article  in  his  paper  congratulating  the 
nihilists  upon  the  assassination  of  the  Tsar.  Most 
was  an  interesting  figure. 

He  was  a  printer  by  trade  and  traveled  through 
Germany,  Austria-Hungary,  Italy,  and  Switzerland  dur- 
ing his  apprenticeship.  In  Berlin  he  became  editor  of 
the  Freie  Presse,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Reichstag 
from  1874  to  1877.  Because  of  the  cynical,  biting  way- 
he  expressed  himself  about  religion,  militarism,  and 
patriotism,  he  served  prison  sentences  amounting  to 
four  and  a  half  years.    Because  of  the  law  against  the 

1  Albert  B.  Faust,  The  German  Element  in  the  United  States,  ii,  1909, 
p.  193. 

275 


THE  IMMIGR.\NT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Sociali-sts  he  was  exiled  from  Germany  and  went  to 
England.  Here  he  edited  the  Freiheit  up  to  1881,  when 
he  wTote  his  article  on  Alexander  H  and  was  sent  to 
prison.  It  was  at  this  time  that  he  became  an  anar- 
chist. In  New  York  City  he  again  published  the  Frei- 
heit, and  again  served  time  in  prison.  He  gained  con- 
siderable notoriety  at  the  time  of  the  Haymarket  riot 


TABLE  VI 

Dates  of  Origin  of  the  Radical  Foreign-l.\nguage  Press* 


Lanquage 

Da-^e  or 
Origin 

Name  of  Paper 

Published  in 

German 

1872 
1876 
1879 
1886 
1889 
1895 
1897 
1898 
1900 
1903 
1904 
1905 
1905 
1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1911 
1913 
1014 
1917 
1917 
1918 

Vorbote 

Chicago 
Chicago 
Chicago 
New  York 

Arbciter  Zeitung  ^ 

Fackel 

Bohemian. . . . 

HlasLidu^ 

Armenian. . . . 

Hair  en  ik^ 

Boston 

Polish.     . . . 

Robotnik  Polski 

New  York 

Yiddish 

German 

Hungarian. . . 

Jewish  Daily  Forward"^.  . 

Arbeiter  Zeitung 

Elore  ^ 

New  York 
St.  Louis 
New  York 

Tyomies^ 

Superior,  Wis. 
Chicago 
Chicago 

Fitchburg,  Mass. 
Boston 

Armenian — 

Eritassard  Hayastan 

Spravedhiost  ■ 

liaivaaja  ^ 

Lithuanian 

Kelfiivis 

Italian 

Parola  Proletaria 

Toveri'^ 

Chicago 
Astoria,  Ore. 

Asbarez 

Fresno,  Cal. 

Lapatossu 

Superior,  Wis. 

Obrana   

New  York 

Finnish. 

Toveritar 

Astoria,  Ore. 

German 

Echo 

Cleveland 

Chicago 
Chicago 
Duluth,  Minn. 

Naujienos  ^ 

Indusirialisti  ^  

Polish 

Russian 

Glos  Robotniczy  ^ 

Narodnaya  Gazeta 

Detroit,  Mich. 
New  York 

^  American  Newspaper  Annual  and  Directory,  1920,  N.  W.  Ayer  & 
Son.  2  Daily 

276 


THE  LATER  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 

in  Chicago,  in  1886,  as  the  author  of  The  Science  of 
Warfare,  which  was  supposed  to  have  influenced  the 
eight  Chicago  anarchists  who  were  condemned  to  death 
for  throwing  a  bomb.  A  year  later,  in  1887,  Most  stopped 
publishing  his  paper.     He  died  in  Cincinnati  in  1906. 

This  period  marked  tlie  onset  of  the  great  migration, 
which  increased  the  numbers  of  the  annual  immigra- 
tion from  141,857  in  1877  to  788,992  in  1882,  and  even- 
tually, with  many  fluctuations  in  the  intervening  period, 
to  1,285,349  in  1907.  As  most  of  these  immigrants 
remained  in  the  city  to  swell  the  industrial  classes,  they 
were  predestined  to  share  the  interests  and  ideals  which 
were  beginning  to  find  expression  in  the  Socialist  and 
labor  press. 

Most  of  the  existing  Socialist  papers  were  established 
after  1880.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  most  of  them  were 
established  after  1890.  No  doubt  many  were  started 
between  1880  and  1890,  but  did  not  live.  This  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  foreign-language  journals.  Many  are 
born  but  few  survive.     (See  Table  \T.) 

The  Socialist  press  in  America  owes  its  existence  to 
the  fact  that  the  immigrant  has  ceased  to  be  a  settler 
and  a  landowner  and  has  become  a  wage  earner  and,  in 
the  language  of  the  Socialist,  a  proletarian. 

THE   ATMOSPHERE   OF  IMMIGRANT   JOURNALISM 

The  immigrant  press  since  1880,  in  contrast  with  that 
of  the  earlier  period,  is  not  only  urban,  but  urbane. 
In  most  foreign-language  communities  there  is  a 
sprinkling  of  intellectuals,  and  in  some  of  them,  par- 
ticularly among  the  Jews  of  New  York,  there  is  a  very 
vivid  and  highly  stimulated  bohemian  life,  centering  in 
the  numerous  restaurants  and  teahouses  of  the  East 
Side.  On  Second  Avenue,  the  Broadway  and  Fifth 
Avenue  of  the  Lower  East  Side,  generally  spoken  of 

277 


THE  IMIVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL^ 

as  "uptown,"  there  is  Strunsky's,  where  poets  and 
writers  and  artists  and  their  hangers-on  are  to  be  found 
every  night  around  the  Httle  tables.  The  men  of  more 
established  reputation  and  connections,  like  Gregory 
Weinstein,  the  editor  of  the  Novy  Mir,  or  Scholem  Asch, 
the  young  novelist,  even  wander  over  as  far  as  the 
Russian  Inn  on  Thirty-seventh  Street,  where  the  East 
Side,  the  American  radical,  and  the  Americanized  Jew 
light  each  other's  cigarettes.  But  the  intellectuals  do 
not  always  forgather  by  themselves;  they  drop  in  at 
the  restaurants  in  the  heart  of  the  Russian  section, 
where  some  one  plays  a  piano  with  one  finger  and  there 
are  long  benches  instead  of  chairs;  or  at  the  Palais 
Royal  on  Second  Avenue,  a  Hungarian  restaurant, 
where  the  after-theater  crowds  can  drink  their  tea  on 
the  sidewalk;  or  at  Moskowitz's,  a  Rumanian- Jewish 
Rathskeller  on  Rivington  Street,  once  famous  for  its 
sweet  wine  and  its  dulcimer  playing. 

While  in  Europe  every  profession  and  trade  has  its 
own  restaurant,  in  New  York  the  type  that  patronizes 
one  restaurant  changes  too  often  to  make  such  a  tra- 
dition possible,  except  in  the  case  of  the  newspaper 
men.  The  Yiddish  newspapers  used  to  be  published  on 
lower  East  Broadway;  now  they  have  moved  to  Rut- 
gers Square,  and  their  restaurant  has  moved  with  them. 
At  noon  the  reporters  from  the  Jewish  Daily  Forward, 
the  Day  (Warheit),  and  the  Jewish  Morning  Journal 
pack  the  Neighborhood  Cafe.  By  evening,  when  the 
other  restaurants  are  only  beginning  to  live,  the  Neigh- 
borhood Cafe  has  lost  its  special  clientele.  The  jour- 
nalists have  all  gone  home  to  their  families  in  Browns- 
ville, Brooklyn,  and  the  Bronx. 

The  old  historical  Kibitzarnia  [a  place  where  people  **kid" 
each  other]  of  the  Jewish  literary  men  in  New  York  City  was 
written  up  by  the  Forward  when  it  went  out  of  existence 

278 


THE  LATER  BIMIGRANT  PRESS 

some  months  ago.  What  in  the  world  were  they  to  do  with 
themselves — the  Jewish  literary  "Kibitzers,"  [the  kidders], 
the  sophisticated  and  naive,  the  big  ones  and  the  little  ones? 
WTiere  were  they  to  bmld  worlds  and  to  divide  coimtries  and 
windmills? 

Yes,  now  there  is  a  new  Kibitzarnia.  .  .  .  There  had  to  be 
a  rendezvous  for  Jewish  writers,  because  without  it  the  world 
could  not  exist.  Do  you  know  a  Jewish  towm  without  its 
slum,  its  sweat  bath,  and  its  mill?  The  people  of  Israel  are 
sustained  by  miracles.  If  distress  comes  upon  Jews  in  one 
land,  then  goo<l  luck  descends  upon  the  Jews  of  other  coim- 
tries, and  so  it  is  with  Jewish  writers.  At  the  verj-  time  that 
they  lost  the  Kibitzarnia  on  Division  Street,  a  new  Kibit- 
zarnia was  opened  on  East  Broadway. 

We  have  been  silent  so  far  about  the  new  Kibitzarnia. 
We  have  said  nothing  at  all  so  far  because  we  were  not  cer- 
tain that  anything  would  come  of  it.  We  were  not  sure 
whether  the  writers  would  fill  it  with  their  holy  spirit,  and 
whether  they  would  be  able  to  argue  there.  We  were  not 
certain  whether  the  youthful  literary  men  would  hang  out 
there,  or  whether  the  old  literary  men  would  sit  over  their 
coffee  and  break  toothpicks  into  pieces.  Now,  however,  we 
can  say  that  the  Kibitzarnia  on  East  Broadway  has  come  to 
stay.  The  whole  shooting-match  with  all  its  paraphernalia, 
the  little  young  poets,  all  the  old  article  wTiters,  all  the 
patriots  and  argumenters,  have  moved  over  with  their  literary 
ammunition,  and  the  Kibitzarnia  is  in  full  swing. 

There  one  breaks  in  horses,  one  builds  windmills  of  jwetry 
and  romances,  one  waltzes  with  the  world,  one  flatters  and 
talks  over  the  other  fellow's  sketches.  Each  man  is  charitable 
to  the  other,  and  the  steam  of  glasses  and  the  smoke  of  the 
literary  battle  go  up  to  heaven. 

Let  me  give  you  a  description  of  the  virtues  and  vices  of 
the  New  York  Kibitzarnia:  The  little  tables  are  exactly  the 
same  as  in  the  old  place,  which  existed  for  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century.  The  literary  men  who  used  to  blow  there,  blow 
here  too;  the  men  who  have  collected  news  and  gossip  tell  of 
the  luck  they  have  had  with  it  in  the  English  papers.  The 
writers  who  have  not  yet  gotten  recognition,  the  "youth,", 

279 


THE  BOIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

and  the  modern  artists  are  also  here.  The  old  men  who  are 
played  out,  but  who  are  not  aware  of  it,  still  read  occasion- 
ally to  be  stimulated,  sailing  along  happy  in  the  belief  that 
they  are  poi)ular  and  beloved  by  the  intellectuals.  The 
patriots  among  the  youth  have  not  become  younger  or  more 
beautiful.  One  reads  the  same  old  manuscripts  aloud  in  the 
new  Kibitzarnia  that  were  read  aloud  in  the  old  Kibitzarnia, 
and  that  no  editor  has  yet  bought.  The  critics  have  not 
grown  any  wiser  here,  and  the  poets  have  not  become  more 
modest,  and  the  "blowed-up"  ones  that  have  cut  themselves 
out  on  a  large  pattern  have  not  become  more  sane — they 
have  filled  themselves  neither  with  honor  nor  liver-steak. 

But  the  restaurant  and  the  restaurant  keeper  are  different. 
The  old  restaurant  was  broad  and  had  no  windows.  The  new 
restaurant  is  long  and  small  and  has  windows.  The  old 
restaurant  keeper  was  not  a  literary  person,  and  the  new  one 
is  a  little  literary.  He  has  some  ideas  about  advertising  and 
he  occupies  himself  with  all  the  journalists.  As  long  as  the 
restaurant  remains  small  and  the  restaurant  keeper  is  one  of 
them,  the  breath  of  Jewish  literature  will  be  in  the  air.^ 

The  only  other  immigrant  group  which  contains  so 
large  a  proportion  of  intellectuals  and  supports  any- 
thing like  so  varied  an  assortment  of  idealists  and  doc- 
trinaires is  the  Japanese  community  of  the  Pacific 
coast.  Of  that  community,  its  ambitions,  and  its  vicis- 
situdes, a  very  lively  description  has  been  given  by 
Shakuma  Washizu,  an  editorial  writer  on  the  Japanese- 
American  News: 

As  far  as  I  remember,  the  first  Japanese  paper  in  this 
country  was  published  in  the  spring  of  1892,  ui  San  Francisco. 
The  title  was  the  Nineteenth  Century.  The  first  magazine  was 
issued  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  entitled  Ensei  (Ex- 
plorer). The  NineteeJiih  Century  was  published  by  JVIr. 
Sugawara,  now  well  known  in  party  politics  in  Japan,  with 
the  assistance  of  IVIr.  Yamaguchi,  Mr.  Kumano,  and  other 
members  of  the  Liberal  movement.    At  that  time  there  were 


^  Article  by  Botwinik  in  the  Forward,  New  York  City. 
280 


THE  LATER  BIMIGRANT  PRESS 

a  number  of  radical  political  agitators  in  San  Francisco,  and 
tliey  organized  a  political  club  under  the  name  of  Patriotic 
League,  which  attacked  violently  the  autocratic  and  high- 
handed methods  of  the  then  existing  Japanese  government. 
The  paper  was  printed  in  mimeograph  copies  and  distributed 
among  friends  in  Japan.  Those  copies  were  condemned  by 
government  officials,  and  as  soon  as  they  reached  Yokohama 
they  were  confiscated. 

Next  year  the  etlitors  sent  for  some  Japanese  types,  and  the 
entire  membership  of  the  club  helpeti  to  issue  the  first  number 
of  a  monthly  paper.  As  to  the  content  of  that  paper,  you  can 
imagine  tlie  vehement  condemnation  poured  upon  the  gov- 
,  ernment,  as  it  was  right  after  the  suppression  of  the  previous 
issue. 

Practically  every  one  of  the  members  of  the  Patriotic 
League  were  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  twenty-seven 
or  eigtit,  and  they  had  great  ambitions  and  great  hopes. 
They  discussed  Bismarck  and  Gladstone  as  if  tliese  men  were 
tlieir  inferiors.  They  dealt  with  the  diplomatic  policy  of  the 
country  and  its  government  sj'stem  in  the  frankest  possible 
way,  and  even  attacked  the  Japanese  consul  for  inefficiency. 

However,  thej'  publishefl  only  the  first  number,  and  when 
I  inquired  for  the  second  the  club  members  told  me  that  that 
issue  was  also  suppressed  in  Japan,  and  no  further  attempt 
was  made  to  continue  it.  This  was  merely  an  excuse,  as  I 
found  out  later.  The  real  reason  was  tliat  while  these  ama- 
teur printers  had  lieen  willing  to  set  up  the  paper  in  the 
Japanese  types,  when  it  came  to  distributing  them  again  no 
one  would  take  that  trouble,  as  it  is  an  extremely  tedious  job. 
Some  of  the  members  did  make  a  start,  but  gave  it  up,  and 
finally  those  precious  and  expensive  types  were  almost  buried 
in  the  dust  in  the  basement  of  the  printing  shop.  .  .  . 

It  was  at  this  time  that  I  landed  at  San  Francisco,  As  to 
my  previous  history:  I  was  born  in  a  middle-class  family  in 
Japan,  was  raised  in  an  improvidential  way,  published  a 
newspaper  or  two,  ran  for  a  political  office  or  two,  went  into 
business,  but  was  never  successful,  and  at  last  I  found  myself 
on  this  continent. 

Let  me  tell  you  my  impressions  of  the  distinguished  editor. 
2S1 


THE  BESIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

IVIr.  Nagai,  when  I  called  upon  him  shortly  after  my  arrival. 
The  editorial  sanctum,  as  I  soon  saw,  was  at  the  same  time 
kitchen,  duiing  room,  printing  shop,  parlor,  and  bedroom,  all 
in  one.  The  editor  talked  with  me  while  working  at  the  print- 
ing press,  his  hands  all  black  with  ink.  His  unshaved  face 
and  shabby  dress  gave  me  the  impression  of  a  tramp.  Next 
to  him  was  a  rough  table,  on  which  I  found  pieces  of  dried 
bread  scattered,  a  worn-out  coffee  pot  and  frying  pan.  He 
remarked  that,  "in  this  country  everybody  works,  even  a 
President  of  the  coimtry  had  been  a  day  laborer."  In  the 
meantime  tliere  appeared  Mr.  Hinata  and  Mr.  Sanata,  one 
about  twenty,  and  the  other  about  fifteen,  still  wearing  short 
pants.  Together  with  the  editor,  Nagai,  they  made  up  the 
'  entire  staff  of  the  Golden  Gate  Daily.  Mr.  Sanata,  by  the  way, 
completed  an  engineering  course  in  a  imiversity,  later. 

After  this  interim  I  went  up  to  the  San  Francisco  Jiji 
(Chronicle),  which  was  located  then  at  Jessy  Street.  I  found  at 
the  front  entrance  a  piece  of  paper  pasted  on  the  wall  with  the 
title  of  the  paper  on  it.  I  stepi^ed  into  the  editorial  office  and 
found  Mr.  Sawaki  Saburo  (now  the  head  of  a  department  of  the 
Toyo  Kisen  [Steamship]  Company)  leaning  on  the  desk  trans- 
lating a  dime  novel.  In  the  next  room  there  was  a  litho 
printing  shop  and  the  president  of  the  paper  was  printing  the 
paper.  This  was  during  the  Chino-Japanese  War  and  the 
paper  was  doing  wonderfully  well  for  that  time.  They  were 
issuing  some  130  copies,  with  eighty  paid  subscribers.  There 
were  a  number  of  helpers  in  this  oflSce.  I  understood  that 
there  were  about  five  permanent  men  on  the  staff,  but  when 
it  came  to  the  meal  hour  there  were  about  fifteen  or  twenty. 
The  menu  was  as  follows :  Breakfast,  coffee  and  bread ;  lunch, 
water  and  bread;  and  supper,  rice  and  p)ork  soup.  After  the 
meals  the  "five"  remained  at  the  work,  but  the  others  im- 
mediately scattered,  I  know  not  where. 

In  the  winter  of  1894,  Yone  Noguchi  (the  poet),  after 
wandering  around  the  country,  rolled  into  the  newspaper 
office.  He  handled  the  circulation  of  the  paper.  At  that 
time  the  editor  was  the  only  member  of  the  staff  who  worked 
full  time.  The  others  worked  part  of  their  time  as  schoolboys, 
day  laborers,  and  what  not,  washing  dishes  and  other  things. 

2S2 


THE  LATER  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 

In  order  to  supersede  the  Flaitery,  Yone  and  I  edited  bi- 
monthly a  magazine  of  similar  character,  called  the  Orient. 
It  was  under  the  business  management  of  Okada.  What 
troubled  us  was  that  Okada,  who  was  our  source  of  income, 
bought  two  loaves  of  bread  every  morning,  but  that  was  all 
we  had.  For  a  while  we  argued  the  world  situations  upon  a 
diet  of  bread  and  water.  Yone  wrote  unintelligible  prose 
and  mistranslations  from  American  literary  works.  Okada 
went  out  to  sell  the  magazine,  but  he  often  did  not  return  for 
two  or  three  days.  When  we  waited  for  him  in  ambuscade  to 
demand  of  him  what  he  owed  us,  he  got  off  by  leaving  a  dime 
or  quarter  on  the  table.  Even  a  sage  could  not  live  without 
bread,  so  we  stopped  our  publication  and  I  went  to  the  San 
Francisco  Jiji  (Chronicle).  While  there  I  delivered  the  paper 
in  the  interval  of  my  proofreadings.  It  was  in  the  autumn  of 
1895.  As  I  delivered  the  paper  with  my  frock  coat  on,  the 
president,  Yamato,  praised  me,  saying  I  was  the  first  one  who 
had  performed  that  task  with  real  dignity.  It  was  about  this 
time  that  the  Golden  Gate  Daily  was  consolidated  with  the 
San  Francisco  Jiji.  .  .  . 

For  my  part,  I  managed  to  issue  a  comic  paper  called 
Agohazuski  (Open  the  Jaws),  and  enlisted  practically  all  the 
best  men  of  the  press  circle  in  San  Francisco.  Among  them 
were  Ooka,  Watanabe,  Satsuke,  Yamada,  Yoshita,  Ishimaru, 
Doctor  Kobayashi,  artist  Takahashi,  Fukase,  Yone  Noguchi, 
Yamada,  and  Ito,  editor  of  the  New  World,  and  Sakakami. 
It  was  the  fall  of  1896.  This  magazine  continued  up  to  twelve 
numbers,  but  the  total  income  for  the  enterprise  was  not  more 
than  fifteen  dollars.  I  did  not  eat  more  than  once  a  day  for 
several  months.  At  this  time  Okada,  who  failed  with  the 
Orient,  suddenly  started  to  publish  the  Japan  Herald,  and  for 
its  staff  he  enlisted  Mr.  Moida,  now  the  head  of  the  foreign 
department  of  the  Tokio  Asahi;  also  Takada,  and  Yoko- 
kawa,  who  at  the  time  of  the  Russo-Japanese  War  went  up 
to  Manchuria  to  blow  up  the  railroad  bridge,  was  caught  by 
the  Russians  and  was  shot.     I  was  asked  to  join. 

The  Japan  Herald  was  a  four-page  paper  printed  in  litho- 
graph.    There  were  only  two  papers  at  that  time,  the  New 
World  and  the  Japan  Herald,  and  both  of  them  kept  up  a 
19  283 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

wild  fight  in  the  papers.  Sometimes  we  filled  a  whole  page 
with  the  attacks  upon  the  New  World.  Okada,  who  was  often 
unable  to  get  the  paper  from  the  printing  shop  of  the  Chinese 
printer  because  he  could  not  meet  the  printing  bill  for  the 
previous  month,  found  it  rather  trying  to  keep  the  paper 
afloat.  Twenty  dollars  a  month  for  printing  was  very  reason- 
able for  a  daily  paper,  but  the  real  trouble  was  that  the  total 
income  was  fifty  dollars,  and  we  had  to  resort  to  the  five- 
cent  lunches  of  the  dog  wagon  on  Kearney  Street  to  live. 

It  was  about  this  time,  in  the  summer  of  1897,  that  Mr. 
Abiko,  then  the  president  of  the  Gospel  Society,  called  on 
me  at  my  editorial  oiBce  of  the  Japan  Herald  on  Martin 
Street,  and  smilingly  asked  me  to  make  a  sign  for  him,  as  a 
member  of  the  society  had  started  a  family  hotel.  Not  having 
a  brush  fit  to  do  the  job,  I  declined.  Thereupon  jVIt.  Abiko 
went  to  a  Chinese  shop  across  the  street  and  got  one.  While 
the  ink  was  getting  to  be  dried  we  gossiped  for  a  while,  and 
I  told  him  how  important  it  was  to  have  a  strong  public  press. 
Of  course  he  was  not  told  of  our  "hard-ups."  A  few  days 
later  he  called  on  me  again  and  expressed  his  wish  to  start  a 
paper.  I  asked  why  would  you  not  buy  this  paper.  He  asked 
about  how  much.  I  told  him  that  twenty-five  dollars  would 
pay  for  everything.  He  seemed  a  little  surprised,  but  said 
he  was  willing  to  take  the  business  over  if  he  could  pay  it 
up  within  ten  months  upon  monthly  installments.  We  called 
in  Mr.  Okada  and  outlined  the  project,  and  he  said  he  was 
willing  to  let  the  paper  go  at  twenty-five  dollars,  and  within 
ten  minutes  everything  was  completed. 

There  was  reorganization  of  the  staff;  I  was  to  take  charge 
of  the  litho  printing,  Maeda  to  take  charge  of  the  editing; 
Okada  was  to  take  charge  of  the  circulation;  while  ]Mr.  Abiko 
took  charge  of  the  whole  thing.  The  Japan  Herald  was 
changed  to  the  Japan  Neivs  and  its  first  issue  was  out  in  June, 
1897.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  Japanese  American  News^ 
which  has  now  reached  its  seven  thousandth  issue.  As  I  had 
had  bitter  experience,  I  assumed  that  even  this  paper  could 
not  feed  us,  so  I  started  again  tl>at  comic  paper  which  came 
to  an  end  some  time  ago  at  the  twelfth  number.  Here  again 
we  got  together  a  number  of  those  press  men  at  a  building 

284 


THE  LATER  IMMIGRANT  PRESS 

which  became  gradually  a  resort  for  the  homeless  and  poverty- 
stricken  fellows.  As  I  was  manager  of  the  paper  everyone 
called  me  a  great  king.  I  was  a  sad  king  indeed — I  had  to 
do  all  the  cooking. 

Next  year  the  Japan  News  received  the  tj'pes  from  Japan 
and  ceased  to  print  in  lithograph.  At  that  date  I  do  not 
tliink  the  number  of  copies  printed  were  more  than  150. 

In  the  meantime  we  got  into  a  lawsuit  as  the  result  of  our 
printing  a  certam  caricature  which  offended  an  American 
woman.  As  we  could  not  hire  a  lawyer  to  flefend  the  case 
we  lost  it.  Maeda  was  fined  fiftj'  dollars,  and  Takahashi  and 
I  were  thrown  into  jail  for  nine  months.  During  that  time 
both  of  us  really  lived,  as  we  had  plenty  to  eat.  Besides,  we 
enjoyed  our  leisure  hours  to  read  and  play  our  chess  games 
(those  happy  days  in  jail).  I  also  kept  up  my  writing  to  the 
papers  in  the  city  regularly.  After  I  was  released  from  the 
jail  I  went  into  the  New  World,  and  at  tliat  time  Wakamiya 
entered  into  our  group.  He  is  now  editor-in-chief  of  the  Chuo 
Shimhun  of  Tokio.  Before  I  went  to  prison  Yone  Noguchi, 
who  had  spent  his  time  with  Joaquin  Miller,  sent  his  verses 
to  an  American  magazuie,  and  they  were  published,  and  he 
became  very  famous,  ^^^^en  we  moved  into  the  house  on 
Post  Street  he  joined  me  and  there  published,  by  himself,  an 
English  verse  magazine,  while  I  changed  the  title  of  my  comic 
paper  to  the  Pacific.  This  had  reached  its  second  number 
when  I  was  taken  to  the  prison.  Naturally  the  issue  ceased 
then. 

The  New  World  had  some  troub'e  with  the  "  Y"  and  moved 
to  Bush  Street,  while  the  members  of  the  "Y"  started  to 
publish  a  paper  called  the  North  American.  These  papers 
fought  a  bitter  fight  with  their  pens.  In  a  short  time,  how- 
ever, the  North  American  and  Japan  News,  on  April  3,  1900, 
united  under  the  title  of  the  Japanese  American,  which  has 
now  reached,  as  I  said  Injfore,  its  seven  thousandth  number. 

Before  I  was  imprisoned,  in  1899,  Sano,  Miyagawa,  and 
Miss  Dillon  published  a  magazine  called  the  Chrysanthemum, 
but  the  project  did  not  live  long.  About  this  time  in  Los 
Angeles  a  magazine,  published  by  Yuasa  and  Matsumura  in 
mimeograph  print,  was  started.    Though  I  forget  its  name, 

285 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

I  remember  that  it  was  not  a  very  successful  enterprise.  It 
was  at  this  time  that  the  M.  E.  Church  started  to  issue  its 
organ,  Fukuin  (the  Glad  Tidings).  In  Jime,  1900,  I  left  the 
newspaper  business  and  went  to  the  coimtry  for  farming. 
Later,  however,  after  I  spent  two  months  in  the  hospital  in 
Sacramento,  I  found  that  the  Japanese  in  Sacramento  Valley 
were  doing  well,  and  I  suggested  to  Mr.  Abiko,  the  manager 
of  the  Japanese  American,  to  open  a  branch  office  of  that 
paper  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  to  report  the  local  events  of 
the  Japanese  community.  Other  papers  immediately  followed 
the  movement  and  opened  up  offices  in  the  various  places. 
This  marked  the  step  toward  real  progress.  As  the  interest 
of  the  papers  broadened  with  the  extension  into  the  country, 
the  editors  stopped  their  personal  abuse  of  one  another  and 
turned  their  attention  toward  the  service  of  the  Japanese 
commimity  as  a  whole.  The  movement  paid,  too.  Both 
papers  found  new  quarters  and  set  up  modern  printing 
presses  in  their  shops.  During  the  Russo-Japanese  War  both 
papers  made  wonderful  progress,  as  there  was  a  large  influx 
of  Japanese  then  and  after  the  war.  Although  such  progress 
was  interrupted  by  the  earthquake  in  San  Francisco  in  1906, 
it  was  only  for  a  brief  period.  Before  and  after  the  earth- 
quake there  were  a  number  of  papers  beginning  to  appear  in 
other  centers  of  the  Japanese  community — namely,  the  Los 
Angeles  News,  the  Sacramento  Daily,  among  others.^ 

The  Japanese  American  News  is  the  largest  and  most 
influential  of  the  eleven  Japanese  dailies  published  in 
America.  It  lias  a  circulation  of  12,568.  This  history 
of  the  Japanese  press  was  written  to  celebrate  the  event 
of  its  seven  thousandth  issue. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  among  the  other  language 
groups  tliere  are  not  more  writers  who  are  able  to  give 
us  a  picture  of  the  press  as  intimate,  candid,  and  hu- 
morous as  that  of  Shakuma  Washizu  of  San  Francisco. 

^Translation  by  Shiko  Kusama. 


xn 


THE    PRESS    REFLECTS    ITS    GROUP 

The  distribution  of  the  press  of  the  various  foreign- 
language  groups  locates  with  considerable  accuracy 
their  principal  settlements  in  the  United  States,  and 
makes  it  possible  to  indicate  "cultural  areas"  in  which 
the  influences  of  certain  immigrant  groups  have  been 
more  pronounced  than  elsewhere.  The  character  and 
contents  of  the  papers  published  in  these  areas  are  an 
index  to  the  characteristic  interest,  ambitions,  and 
social  attitudes  of  the  people  who  read  them.  In  this 
way  it  is  possible,  not  merely  to  define  different  immi- 
grant areas,  but  to  sketch,  in  a  rough  way,  their  moral, 
psychological,  and  political  complexions.^ 

Outside  New  York  and  Chicago,  where  most  of  the 
larger  immigrant  colonies  are  located,  the  immigrant 
population,  as  marked  by  the  location  of  their  journals, 
falls  into  three  or  four  large  groups. 

The  Middle  West  group,  represented  by  the  Germans 
and  Scandinavians,  stretches  a  German  arm  do^Ti  into 
the  Southwest  as  far  as  central  Texas,  and  a  Scandi- 
navian arm  up  into  Minnesota  and  the  Northwest. 
This  group  includes  also  the  Bohemian  farmers  of  Wis- 
consin, Iowa,  and  Nebraska,  and  small  groups  of 
Hollanders,  and  such  minor  population  groups  as  the 
Belgian-Flemish  and  the  Welsh.  If  it  were  possible  to 
characterize  this  IMiddle  Western  group  with  a  word, 
one  might  designate  them,  with  reference  to  their  atti- 
tude as  immigrants,  as  "settlers." 

1  See  Part  III,  "The  Contents  of  the  Press." 
287 


THE  PRESS  REFLECTS  ITS  GROUP 

It  is  pyerhaps  inaccurate  to  put  the  Bohemians  in  this 
class,  as  it  is  well  known  that,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Irish  and  tlie  Poles,  they  are  the  most  pronounced 
nationalists  among  all  the  major  immigrant  groups. 
Like  the  Irish,  however,  they  are  more  completely 
identified  with  this  country  than  any  other  immigrant 
people  except  the  Germans  and  Scandinavians. 

A  second  group  might  include  the  Spanish,  who  have 
crossed  the  border  from  Mexico  in  the  south,  and  the 
French,  who  have  come  down  from  the  Province  of 
Quebec  on  the  north.  These  people,  when  they  do  not 
represent  early  settlements  made  before  the  United 
States  took  over  the  territory  they  now  occupy  (as  is 
the  case  in  New  Mexico),  came  into  the  country  orig- 
inally as  seasonal  or  transient  laborers.  Every  year 
the  stream  of  immigration  across  the  border  has  moved 
deeper  into  the  country.  Every  time  the  tide  flowed 
back,  it  left  behind  a  certain  number  of  permanent 
settlers,  but  the  population  deltas  thus  formed  are  still 
firmly  anchored,  by  ties  of  sentiment  and  tradition,  to 
the  home  country'. 

This  is  partly  because  there  are  no  natural  barriers 
between  tlie  United  States  and  the  mother  countries, 
and  partly  because  the  differences  in  culture  are  so 
wide  that  the  immigrants  have  remained  isolated. 
These  peoples,  with  reference  to  their  attitude  toward 
American  life,  might  be  designated  as  "colonists." 

A  tliird  division  of  immigrant  peoples  that  can  be 
locally  defined  is  that  represented  mainly  by  the 
Italian  and  Slavic  populations.  The  full  list  would  in- 
clude: Bulgarians,  Croatians,  Finns,  Hungarians,  Ital- 
ians, Lithuanians,  Poles,  Rumanians,  Russians,  Serbs, 
Slovaks,  Slovenians,  Ukrainians.  These  are  the  people 
who  compose  that  gi'eat  drifting  body  of  laborers  which 
moves  back  and  forth  across  the  Atlantic  in  response 
to  the  changing  demands  of  American  industry.    These 

2S9 


THE  BUVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

are  the  men  who  do  the  rougli  work  in  the  mines  and 
make  up  a  large  part  of  the  factory  populations  in  our 
industi-ial  cities.  These  people  have  left  their  own 
country,  but  they  have  not  quite  settled  in  this.  We 
may  characterize  them  as  tlie  migrant,  as  distinguished 
from  the  immigrant,  peoples.  They  are  the  "  migrant 
industrials." 

Finally,  there  are  the  minor  nationalities,  who  live 
for  the  most  part  in  the  larger  cities,  and  engage  either 
in  trade  or  in  the  lighter  secondary  industries.  They 
include  those  mobile,  adventurous,  and  trading  peoples 
who  are  farthest  removed  from  participation  in  the 
political  and  social  life  of  the  country.  These  are  the 
peoples  from  the  Near  East — Armenians,  Assyrians, 
Greeks,  Persians,  Syrians  (Arabic),  and  Turks.  With 
these  we  may  include  some  of  tlie  very  recent  immi- 
grants, the  Albanians  and  a  comparatively  small  group 
of  Letts,  and  also  the  Orientals  on  the  Western  coast — 
the  Chinese,  Filipinos,  Hindus,  and  Japanese.  All 
these  we  may  classify  as  "exotics,"  because  for  various 
reasons  they  are,  or  seem  to  be,  more  completely  iso- 
lated and  removed  from  contact  and  participation  in 
American  life  than  any  other  immigrant  peoples. 

Some  groups  do  not  belong  completely  to  any  one  of 
these  classifications.  The  sea-roving  Portuguese  from 
the  Cape  Verde  Islands  have  established  small  colonies 
and  newspapers  on  both  the  Eastern  and  the  Western 
coasts.  The  fact  that  they  cling  to  the  coast  shows 
how  tentative  their  occupation  is,  and  from  the  point 
of  view  of  participation  in  American  life  they  should 
be  classed  with  the  exotics.  Yet  industrially  they  be- 
long with  the  migrant  industrials. 

The  Jewish  immigrants,  who  might  be  classed  with 
any  one  of  the  different  categories,  can  actually  be 
classed  with  none.  The  Jew,  to  be  sure,  has  a  predi- 
lection for  trade,  and  is  by  tradition  a  city  dweller. 

290 


THE  IMMIGR.VNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

But  the  Jew,  just  because  he  has  no  native  country — in 
the  sense  that  the  Norwegian  is  native  to  Norway — 
when  he  changes  his  nationahtydoes  so  whole-heartedly. 
He  brings  his  family  and  all  his  household  and  tribal 
gods  with  him.  Yet  there  are  no  people,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Chinese  and  the  Japanese,  who  possess 
a  more  distinctive  culture  than  the  Jews,  or  who  have 
been  better  able  to  adapt  their  culture  to  America  and 
still  preserve  it  against  the  disintegrating  effects  of  the 
American  environment. 

In  the  following  examination  of  the  various  immi- 
grant presses,  made  with  a  view  to  establishing  a  rela- 
tion between  certain  of  their  traits  and  the  life  of  the 
supporting  groups,  it  will  be  found  that  the  resulting 
classification  corresponds  in  general  with  those  already 
delineated. 


PROCESS  OF  SETTLEMENT 

The  process  of  settlement  in  these  various  cultural  areas 
has  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  determining  tlie  charac- 
ter of  these  areas  and  of  their  newspapers. 

The  fever  for  immigration,  as  has  long  been  recog- 
nized, is  highly  contagious.  When  it  strikes  a  peasant 
village  it  infects  tlie  whole  community,  and  continues 
until  all  who  can  have  emigrated.  In  this  country  a 
new  community  is  established  which  is  virtually  a 
colony  of  the  village  and  eventually  of  the  province  in 
the  old  country  from  which  the  immigrants  originally 
came. 

The  United  States  is  checkered  \\'ith  little  settlements, 
each  composed  almost  entirely  of  people  from  a  single 
village  or  province  abroad. 

Immigrants  from  the  Rhine  Valley,  from  Oldenburg, 
Westphalia,  Rhenish  Prussia,  and  Rhine-Hessan,  set- 
tled at  Bastrop,  Texas;    Westphalia,  Michigan;   Rox- 

292 


THE  PRESS  REFLECTS  ITS  GROUP 

burg.  Middle  ton,  and  Berry,  Wisconsin;  and  at  Little 
Rock,  Arkansas.  Wiirtembergers  settled  at  Ann  Arbor, 
Michigan;  and  Saxons  settled  at  Osnabrlick,  Missis- 
sippi. Germans  from  Alsace-Lorraine  settled  in  Lorain 
and  Erie  counties,  Ohio. 

Some  of  these  colonies  had  special  interests.  Bethle- 
hem in  Pennsylvania,  and  Nazareth,  Goshen,  and  Ca- 
naan, which  are  just  across  the  border  in  Ohio,  are 
types  of  the  early  religious  colonies  of  the  INIoravians, 
Dunkards,  and  Amish.  Montgomery  and  Gasconade 
counties  in  Mississippi,  New  Braunfels  and  Fredericks- 
burg in  Texas,  and  Germania  in  Wisconsin,  mark  the 
three  attempts  to  found  a  German  state  in  America. 
The  Duden  colony  on  the  Femme  Osage  River  of  Mis- 
sissippi, and  Belleville  in  Illinois,  got  their  stamp  from 
the  number  of  upper-class  and  educated  people  who 
settled  there,  among  whom  were  most  of  the  political 
refugees  of  1848.  They  were  known  as  the  "Latin 
Settlements." 

The  Jews  and  Italians  have  settled  tlie  lower  East 
and  West  sides  of  Manhattan  Island,  New  York  City, 
in  precisely  the  same  way  that  the  Scandinavians  and 
Germans  settled  the  rural  districts  of  the  ^Middle  West. 
The  Jewish  quarter,  below  Houston  Street,  is.  or  was 
originally,  a  congeries  of  little  settlements,  each  repre- 
sented by  a  synagogue  bearing  the  name  of  the  foreign 
village  from  which  its  members  came.  Every  Italian 
immigrant — and  this  is  particularly  true  of  the  south- 
ern Italians — comes  from  a  village  in  Italy  to  a  colony 
of  that  village  in  New  York  or  some  other  city.^ 

The  difference  in  the  situation  of  the  immigrant  peo- 
ple who  settled  mostly  in  the  cities  and  those  who  set- 
tled in  rural  communities  is  that  the  colonies  of  the 


» See  R.  E.  Park  and  Herbert  A.  Miller,  Old  World  Traits  Trans- 
planted, pp.  14C,  Hi. 

293 


THE  IIVIJVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

former  have  been  literally  crushed  together  in  con- 
gested areas,  wliile  the  latter  have  been  dispersed  and 
isolated  in  small  agricultural  communities  scattered 
over  two-thirds  of  the  United  States. 

The  tendency  of  city  life  is  to  destroy  the  provincial- 
ism of  the  immigrant  and  to  intensify  his  sense  of  racial 
and  national  solidarity.  This  explains  why  the  Jewish 
people,  although  they  use  three  distinct  foreign  lan- 
guages— German,  Yiddish,  and  Ladino — have  attained 
in  the  United  States  a  degree  of  solidarity  and  com- 
munity organization  more  efficient  than  they  have 
attained  anywhere  else  since  the  Dispersion. 

What  is  true  of  the  Jews  is  likewise  true,  though  in  a 
less  degree,  of  the  other  urban  peoples.  Italian  immi- 
grants from  all  the  provinces,  with  their  historical  and 
dialectic  differences,  brought  together  in  our  great 
cities,  have  developed  a  national  feeling  and  sense  of 
solidarity  that  did  not  exist  in  Italy.  The  national 
Italian  society,  which  figures  so  largely  in  the  Italian 
press  on  patriotic  occasions,  turns  out  on  analysis  to 
be  composed  of  smaller  units  which  are  nothing  more 
than  the  mutual  aid  societies  which  every  little  colony 
forms  among  the  members  as  soon  as  it  is  established 
in  this  country.  These  societies  are  in  their  turn  merely 
formal  organization  of  the  spontaneous  neighborliness 
of  the  Italian  village. 

This  effect  of  city  life  is  visible  in  the  urban  press, 
where  both  news  columns  and  editorials  create  and 
maintain  an  active  interest  in  the  politics,  national  and 
international,  of  the  home  country.  The  larger  metro- 
politan papers,  with  their  wide  circulation,  are  bound 
to  address  themselves  neither  to  Bavarians  nor  to 
Westphalians,  nor  to  Saxons,  but  to  Germans;  not  to 
Genoese,  Neapolitans,  Abruzzesi,  or  Girgentesi,  but  sim- 
ply to  Italians.  In  this  way  residence  in  our  cities  has 
broken  down  the  local  and  provincial  loyalties  with 

294 


THE  PRESS  REFLECTS  ITS  GROUP 

which  the  immigrants  arrived,  and  substituted  a  less 
intense  but  more  national  loyalty  in  its  place. 

The  tendency  of  rural  life  is  naturally  in  the  opposite 
direction.  It  emphasizes  local  differences,  preserves  the 
memories  of  the  immigrants,  and  fosters  a  sentimental 
interest  in  the  local  home  community.  This  is  illus- 
trated by  the  German  provincial  press,  which  is  printed 
in  a  dialect  no  longer  recognized  by  the  press  of  Ger- 
many, and  which  idealizes  German  provincial  life  as  it 
existed  fifty  years  ago  and  still  lives  in  the  memories  of 
the  editors  and  readers  of  these  papers. 

Many  foreign-language  groups  in  this  country  have 
both  urban  and  rural  settlements  and  both  an  urban 
and  a  rural  press,  but  usually  one  type  is  more  charac- 
teristic of  the  group  than  the  other. 

STATISTICAL   SOURCES 

N.  W.  Ayer  &  Son's  Newspaper  Annual  and  Directory 
is  the  most  reliable  source  of  statistics  on  the  foreign- 
language  press.  It  has  published  lists  of  foreign-lan- 
guage papers  since  1884.  These  lists  have  been  getting 
more  accurate,  but  they  are  by  no  means  complete. 
They  are  particularly  deficient  in  statistics  of  the  smaller 
provincial  publications.  For  1918  Ayer  lists  57  Nor- 
wegian and  18  Japanese  papers,  when,  according  to 
statements  of  students  of  the  press,  there  were  really 
115  Norwegian  and  44  Japanese  papers. 

Ayer  is  concerned  rather  with  getting  accurate  cir- 
culations of  papers  that  are  advertising  mediums  than 
in  getting  a  complete  list  of  papers.  Distinction  is 
made  between  sworn  detailed  statements,  post  office 
statements,  detailed  statements,  publishers*  reports, 
and  estimates.  Circulation  figures  are  not  given  when 
the  paper  is  being  listed  for  the  first  time  nor  "where 
the  information  received  is  indefinite,  contradictory,  or 

295 


THE  BEVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

otherwise  unsatisfactory,  or  where  our  information  on 
local  conditions  creates  a  doubt  as  to  the  accuracy  of 
the  figures  sent  us."  ^  Apparently  this  is  often  the  case 
with  the  foreign-language  papers,  for  only  61.8  per 
cent  of  the  foreign-language  papers  listed  have  circu- 
lation figures  given. 

The  circulation  statistics  of  different  years  cannot 
very  well  be  compared  with  one  another,  because  even 
the  circulation  figures  quoted  in  Ayer's  are  not  accurate 
enough.  There  has  been  in  the  past,  and  there  still  is 
with  the  papers  of  certain  groups,  a  tendency  to  over- 
state the  circulation.  This  tendency  is  illustrated  by 
the  case  of  a  paper  which  is  not  even  listed  in  Ayer's. 
According  to  the  statement  of  the  editor,  the  Romane 
Mare,  a  Rumanian  paper  of  New  York,  had  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1919  a  circulation  of  about  6,000.  This  paper 
changed  hands  and  now  appears  as  the  Lihcrataiea  and 
Desteaptate  Romane  of  Chicago.  In  the  issue  of  July  15, 
1920,  under  the  title,  are  the  words:  "The  oldest  and 
most  popular  Rumanian  weekly  in  the  United  States. 
Reaches  50,000  peoples." 

The  big  foreign-language  dailies  and  weeklies  belong 
to  the  Audit  Bureau  of  Circulation,  and  the  press  of 
the  older  groups  can  be  depended  upon  for  fairly  reliable 
statements  in  regard  to  circulation.  While  Ayer's  An- 
nual has  no  complete  list  of  the  foreign-language  press, 
it  does  include  the  papers  that  have  built  up  a  circula- 
tion, and  it  does  include  only  such  circulation  figures  as 
can  be  depended  upon  by  the  advertiser. 

The  total  circulation  of  the  foreign-language  press 
has  been  estimated  to  be  as  high  as  10,000,000.  Ayer's 
figure  for  January,  1920,  was  7,618,497.  The  figures 
upon  which  the  following  tables  and  diagrams  are  based 


1  American  Newspaper  Annual  and  Directory,  1920,  N.  W.  Ayer 
&  Son,  p.  7. 

296 


THE  PRESS  REFLECTS  ITS  GROUP 

are  from  the  American  Netospaper  Annual  of  1920,  un- 
less otherwise  indicated. 


URBAN  AND  RURAL  PUBLICATIONS 

The  statistics  of  place  of  publication,  whether  urban  or 
rural,  roughly  characterize  the  various  immigrant 
groups  according  to  their  separatist  or  fusionist  tend- 
encies. For  tlie  groups  perpetuating  their  press  most 
TABLE  vn 

PL.1CE3   OP   POBLICATION   OP  THE   FoHEiaN-LANaUAGE   PrESS 


Lamocaob 

New 
Yoax 

Chi- 

CAOO 

Cl.nrE- 

Mra- 

APOU8 

PiTre- 

fiUROU 

San 

FRjU»- 
C18CO 

&r. 

LODU 

B09- 

WAD- 

ru 

Total 

Ten 
Cities 

OOT- 

TtN 
ClTIM 

ToTAJfc 

2 

I 

7 

8 
S 

1 
10 
0 
0 
i 
7 

li 

2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
4 
6 
1 

S 
4 

i 

25 
2 
I 

19 

I 

14 

2 
1 
1 
1 
15 
3 

2 
5 

J 
9 

11 

2 
5 
7 
£ 
11 
2 

7 

3 

12 

2 
I 

1 

6 

2 

1 

8 
2 

1 

1 
1 

13 

1 

11 

7 

7 
1 
5 

2 
1 

2 

1 
1 

4 

1 
2 

2 

S 
I 

1 
1 

4 

I 

2 

1 

4 
1 

3 

2 

6 
2 

1 

1 

I 

1 
1 

S 

15 

1 
2 

1 
1 

2 

I 
4 

2 

3 

3 

2 
11 

2 

4 

7 
6 

SO 

7 

7 

I 

2 

17 

77 

11 

3 

14 

88 

4 

1 

11 

24 

1 

35 

7 

3 

7 

1 

3 
3 

21 

1 

2 

12 
20 
29 
199 

4 

13 
60 
11 

1 

S 

29 

41 

11 

1 

4 

4 
8 

» 

9 

51 

1 

7 
9 
IS 
22 
4d 
278 
15 
3 
27 

Belgian- Flemish 

Dutch 

French 

Creek 

Hebrew 

Italian 

Japanese , 

Lettish 

98 
15 

16 

Korwegian-Oanish. . 

53 

Polish 

18 

Rumanian , . . 

Russian 

« 
11 

2 

i 

1. 

1 

I 

7 
17 
12 
S3 
25 

6 

S3 

11 

2 
67 
33 
4 
2 
3 

7 

Slovak 

f. 

100 

53 

10 

Welsh 

Yiddish 

2 
38 

Total 

146 

106 

34 

27 

25 

25 

23 

23 

23 

18 

450 

593 

1.043' 

*  Exclusivt;  of  9  "other." 


297 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

persistently  tend  to  publish  their  papers  in  rural  dis- 
tricts, and  in  general,  place  of  publication  indicates 
whether  a  paper  has  an  urban  or  a  rural  constituency. 

There  are  450  papers  published  in,  and  593  outside, 
the  ten  American  cities  having  the  largest  number  of 
foreign-language  publications.  Of  these  450  papers,' 
25'2  are  in  New  York  and  Chicago.  Arranged  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  foreign-language  publications  in 
each,  the  places  of  publication  are  as  shown  in  Table VII. 

The  papers  published  outside  the  cities  represent 
roughly  the  older  immigration,  and  the  papers  pub- 
lished in  the  cities  the  newer. 

The  journals  published  by  the  settler  and  colonist 
groups  are  predominantly  rural,  or  at  least  published 
outside  the  ten  centers  of  publication. 


TABLE  VIII 

Places  of  Publication  of  the  "Settler"  and  "Colonist"  Press 


Total 

In  Ten 

Cities 

Outside 

Number 

Per  Cent 

Belgian-Flemish 

3 

2 
13 
276 
100 
46 
58 
53 
51 

1 
77 
33 
17 
25 
24 
30 

3 

2 
12 
199 
67 
29 
33 
29 
21 

100 

Welsh 

100 

Dutch 

92 

German 

72 

Spanish 

67 

French 

63 

Swedish 

57 

Norwegian-Danish 

55 

Bohemian 

41 

Total 

602 

207 

395 

66 

Only  28  per  cent  of  the  German  papers  are  published 
in  the  ten  cities.  Of  all  the  foreign-language  papers,  the 
German  are  by  far  the  most  numerous  and  the  most 
scattered.  There  were,  in  1918,  but  sixteen  states 
which  had  no  German  press.     Many  of  these  papers 

298 


THE  PRESS  REFLECTS  ITS  GROUP 

are  small  provincial  journals,  with  distinctly  local  cir- 
culations. There  are  twenty-seven  towns  which  have 
local  German  papers  with  less  than  1,000  circulation, 
sixteen  of  which  are  in  Ohio,  Wisconsin,  and  Illinois. 
These  three  states  have  129  German  papers,  or  nearly 
half  of  all  in  the  country. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  Germans  in  the  United 
States  are  predominantly  a  rural  population,  or  that 
they  are,  in  comparison  with  other  immigrant  peoples, 
the  racial  group  having  the  largest  proportion  of  rural 
population.  The  census  of  foreign-born  population  for 
1910  shows  that,  of  the  eight  immigrant  peoples  having 
proportionately  the  largest  number  of  rural  dwellers, 
the  Germans  stand  last. 

TABLE  IX 
Per  Cent  of  Foheign-born  Population  Which  Is  Rubal* 


Country  or  Birth 


Norway 

Denmark 

Finland 

Luxemburg 

The  Netherlands. 

Belgium 

Sweden 

Germany 


Per  Cent 


57.8 
51.7 
50.0 
48.7 
45.1 
40.4 
39.4 
33.3 


What  the  distribution  of  the  German  papers  indicates 
is  that  German  immigrants  have  established  a  rela- 
tively larger  number  of  small  permanent  communities 
capable  of  supporting  a  local  German  paper. 

The  language  groups  whose  press  is  mainly  urban 
are  those  whose  occupations  are  predominantly  com- 
mercial— the  Greek,  Armenian,  Chinese,  Syrian  (Ara- 
bic), and  the  Jews.     To  these  should  be  added  two 

'  United  States  Census,  1910.  vol.  i,  p.  818,  Table  22. 
20  299 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

smaller  language  groups,  the  Letts  and  the  Albanians, 
who  also  live  mainly  in  the  larger  cities.  These  people 
are  classed  with  the  exotics.  Their  papers  are  published 
almost  wholly  within  tlie  limits  of  the  ten  cities,  and 
most  of  them  are  in  Chicago  or  New  York. 

The  Yiddish-speaking  Jews  maintain  journals  in  only 
seven  states,  and  of  their  36  journals,  26  are  published 
in  New  York  or  Chicago.  These  journals,  few  in  num- 
ber, have  large  circulations  which  reach  practically  every 
Yiddish-speaking  community  in  the  United  States. 

The  migrant  industrials,  who  are  mainly  employed 
in  the  primary  industries,  and  who  live  in  the  mining 
regions  or  the  smaller  industrial  cities  as  well  as  in  the 
great  centers  of  population,  fall  into  an  intermediate 
classification.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  press  of  this  group 
is  almost  evenly  divided  between  rural  and  urban 
publication. 

TABLE  X 


Pl-\ces  of  Publication  of  the 

"Migrants"  Press 

Total 

In  Ten 

Cities 

Outside 

Race 

Number 

Per  Cent 

Bulgarian 

1 

22 

98 

18 

76 

27 

10 

28 

11 

16 

4 

9 

U 

7 

2 
38 

7 
35 
14 

6 
17 

7 
11 

3 

7 
12 

7 

1 
20 
60 
11 
41 
13 

4 
11 

4 

100 

Finnish 

91 

Italian        

61 

Portuguese 

61 

Polish 

54 

Hungarian   

48 

N  J   Ukrainian 

40 

1   Slovak 

39 

\r_Russian 

36 

VL/ithuanian 

5 

1 
2 
2 

31 

w\  Kunianian 

25 

I    Croatian 

22 

Slovenian 

14 

Total 

341 

166 

175 

51.3 

300 


THE  PRESS  REFLECTS  ITS  GROUP 

Other  predominant  characteristics  of  a  press,  besides 
its  geographical  distribution,  are  significant  in  relation 
to  the  group  that  supports  it. 

FREQUENCY   OF  ISSUE 

A  comparison  of  the  press  of  the  different  language 
groups  shows  that  the  number  and  circulation  of  daily 
newspapers  are  disproportionately  large  among  the  re- 
cent and  more  mobile  immigrants.  For  example,  the 
Swedish  people  have  no  daily  papers  at  all.  Of  the  276 
papers  published  in  German,  only  twenty-nine  are 
dailies.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Bulgarians  publish  but 
one  paper  in  the  United  States,  and  that  is  a  daily 
paper.  Of  the  four  Albanian  journals  mentioned  in 
Ayer's  Neirspaper  Annual,  two  are  dailies,  and  five  of 
the  eight  Arabic  papers  are  New  York  dailies. 

TABLE  XI 

Proportion  of  D.mlies  to  Other  Pehiodicais  of  Certain  Recent 
Immigrant  Groups 


Greek 

Yiddish 

Armenian 

Albanian 

Chinese 

Syrian  (Arabic) 
Japanese 


Dailies 

Othebs 

2 

13 

12 

a 

3 

6 

2 

2 

4 

3 

5 

3 

11 

i 

Ratio 


15 

50 
50 
100 
133 
166 
275 


Circulation  figures  corroborate  this  deduction.  In 
every  case  where  over  half  the  circulation  is  that  of 
dailies,  the  press  belongs  to  one  of  the  exotic  groups. 
The  following  diagram  shows  the  per  cent  of  circulation 

301 


THE  DIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

of  the  exotic  journals  having  the  largest  proportion  of 
daily  circulation: 


DIAGRAM     I.  —  CIRCULATION     OP     THE      JOURNAI^      OF      THE 
"exotics"  by  FREQUENCr  OF  ISSUE 

^^^^^   ^^^^^  j^^^rV   mSW\ 

ARABIC  CHINESE  GREEK  YIDDISH 

m  DAILY  I        I  WEEKLY  &  MONTHLY 

Another  natural  group  is  composed  of  the  earlier 
agrarian  immigrants — the  Scandinavians,  Bohemians, 
and  the  Germans,  with  whom  the  French  and  Spanish 
may,  for  the  purposes  of  this  comparison,  be  classed. 

TABLE  Xn 

Proportion  of  Dailies  to  Other  Periodicals  of  Earlier 
Agrarian  Groups 


Norwegian-Danish 

Spanish 

German 

Italian 

French 

Czech  (Bohemian) 


Dailies 

Others 

2 

51 

5 

94 

29 

247 

11 

87 

8 

38 

9 

42 

Ratio 


4 
5 
12 
13 
21 
21 


Whenever  over  half  the  circulation  is  that  of  the  week- 
lies and  monthlies,  the  press  belongs  to  the  settler  or 
colonist  group. 

802 


THE  PRESS  REFLECTS  ITS  GROUP 


DIAGRAM  11. ClRCUIiATlON   OF   JOURNALS  OF      SETTLER 

"colonist"    GROUP   BY   FREQUENCY   OF   ISSUE 

©o© 


fo%1 


GERMAN  NORWEGIAN  &         SPANISH  SWEDISH 

■i  DAILY         DANISH  j        I  WEEKLY  &  MONTHLY 

Finally,  there  are  the  migrant  industrials,  who  are 
principally  engaged  in  the  big,  fundamental  mining 
and  manufacturing  industries. 

TABLE  XIII 

Proportion  of  Dailies  to  Other  Periodicals  of  the  "Migrant 
Industrial"  Group 


Dailies 

Others 

Ratio 

Ukrainian 

1 

3 
11 
2 
15 
3 
6 
2 
1 
4 
6 
2 

9 
24 
87 

9 
61 
11 
22 

7 

3 
12 
16 

5 

11 

Hungarian 

13 

Italian 

13 

Russian 

22 

Polish 

25 

Slovenian 

27 

Slovak 

27 

Croatian 

28 

Rumanian 

S3 

Lithuanian 

33 

Finnish 

38 

Serbian 

40 

A  certain  number  of  language  groups  maintain  no 
daily  papers.  The  most  important  of  these  is  the 
Swedes.  The  others  are:  the  Portuguese,  Dutch,  Bel- 
gian-Flemish, Lettish,  Welsh,  and  Persian. 

One  reason  daily  papers  are  more  numerous  among 
the  recent  than  among  the  earlier  immigrants  is  that 

303 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

the  recent  immigrants  are  not  able  to  read  the  English 
papers.  Under  these  circumstances  the  foreign-lan- 
guage press  is  a  medium  of  contact  and  communication 
with  the  outside  world.  In  the  case  of  the  earlier  immi- 
grants, particularly  the  Scandinavians  and  Germans, 
the  immigrant  press  is  rather  a  means  of  maintaining 
contact  and  communication  in  the  immigrants'  com- 
munity. 

Another  reason  for  the  disproportionately  large  num- 
ber of  daily  papers  among  the  recent  immigrants  is 
the  fact  that  they  are  predominantly  city  dwellers  and 
that  they  live  in  compact  urban  colonies.  Under  these 
conditions  life  moves  faster  than  in  the  country,  more 
news  is  made  every  day,  and  a  knowledge  of  it  is  more 
necessary  to  success. 


TYPES   OF   PUBLICATION 

Motives  of  publication  are  also  significant.  The  foreign- 
language  press  is  predominantly  a  commercial  press. 
In  the  well-established  immigrant  press,  whether  old  or 
new,  the  circulation  of  the  commercial  papers  is  much 
greater  than  tlie  circulation  of  the  propagandist  papers 
and  organs.  This  fact  is  evident  in  Table  XIV  and 
Diagram  III. 

TABLE  XIV 

ClRCCLATION   OF    TtPES  OF  FoBEIGN-LANGUAGE  JOURNALS  FOR 

Certain  Immigrant  Groups 


Total 

Per  Cent 

Nationalitt 

Commer- 
cial 

Organ 

Propa- 
ganda 

Italian 

691,353 
1,545,104 
986,866 
538,598 
827,754 
125,397 
19.400 

93 
85 
81 
77 
70 
51 
48 

6 
12 
16 
21 

2 

1 

German 

3 

Polish 

3 

Swedish 

2 

Yiddish 

SO 

Finnish 

47 

Armenian 

52 

30i 


THE  PRESS  REFLECTS  ITS  GROUP 

There  are  likely  to  be  as  many  organs  in  any  language 
group  as  there  are  national  organizations.  The  number 
and  variety  of  organs  maintained  by  any  immigrant 
group  is  a  measure  of  the  extent  to  which  it  is  organ- 
ized. While  the  Croatians  have  only  one  organ,  the 
Poles  have  seventeen.  The  kind  of  organs,  also,  reveals 
the  types  of  interests  which  are  characteristic  of  a 
foreign-language  group.  The  Poles  have  four  national- 
istic organs  to  one  Socialist  organ,  but  religion  is  the 
main  line  of  cleavage.  There  are  seven  organs  of 
Roman  Catholic  benefit  societies  and  five  which  repre- 

DIAGRAM  ni. — RATIO  OF  CIRCULATION  OF  COMMERCIAL  PAPERS 
TO  ALL  PAPERS  OF  THE  GERMAN,  ITALIAN,  AND  POUSH 
PRESS 

^^^^  ^^^^L  ^^^^ 

If    H^    15 

GERMAN  ITALIAN  POLISH 

Ml  COMMERCIAL  |        |  OTHER 

sent  nonpartisan  or  independent  benefit  societies.  With 
the  Serbs  nationalistic  sentiment  is  the  issue.  The 
Jugoslav  republic  element  has  a  society  and  a  paper, 
the  Amerikanshi  Srbobran,  which  is  published  in  Pitts- 
burgh, and  the  monarchial  element  has  two  societies, 
represented  by  the  Srbobran  of  New  York  and  the  more 
recent  Svoboda. 

There  is  no  very  complete  list  of  organs  and  propa- 
ganda papers  in  Ayer's.  Organs  like  the  Croatian 
Zojednicar  are  not  listed  because  they  do  not  take 
advertising,  and  the  propaganda  papers  have,  for  the 
most  part,  small  circulations.  The  religious  organ,  even 
when  it  has  a  circulation,  is  not  always  read.  The  Ger- 
man Pilgrim  Press,   1612  Warren  Avenue,   Chicago, 

305 


THE  LVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

published  a  pamphlet  about  its  paper,  the  Kirchen- 
hote  (Church  Messenger),  in  which  this  fact  is  com- 
plained of: 

One  of  our  ministers  said  to  me  a  few  years  ago,  "I  have 
people  in  my  church  to  whose  homes  the  Kirchenhote  goes, 
but  they  do  not  read  it."  Last  year  a  woman  said  to  me,  "I 
only  read  the  death  notices  in  the  Kirchenbote."  This  year 
she  did  not  renew  her  subscription.  Naturally,  one  has  no 
interest  in  a  paper  that  one  does  not  read.  Why  pay  for  a 
paper  when  one  does  not  read  it?  One  must  not  think  ill  of 
a  woman  who  to-day  takes  no  time  to  read  something  useful. 
The  women  of  to-day  must  tat  and  embroider.  But  our 
ministers,  too,  do  not  read  the  Kirchenbote  as  they  should. 
Speak  to  a  minister  sometime  about  some  article  that  appeared 
in  the  Kirchenbote  during  the  last  three  or  four  months,  and 
you  will  soon  find  that  they  know  absolutely  nothing  about 
it.  Those  are  the  ones,  too,  that  usually  find  most  to  criticize 
about  the  paper. 

Perhaps  some  one  will  say,  "If  the  contents  of  the  Kirchen- 
bote were  more  interesting,  I  might  be  more  willing  to  read 
it."  Perhaps  the  fault  lies  with  your  taste  rather  than  with 
the  Kirchejibote.  The  appetite  for  many  of  the  best  earthly 
foods,  also,  has  to  be  awakened  and  developed. 

The  propaganda  papers  are  a  factor  in  the  press  of 
the  groups  among  whom  Socialism  is  a  group  heritage. 

DIAGRAM  rV. — RATIO  OF  CIRCULATION  OF  PROPAGANDA  TO  ALL 
PAPERS  OF  THE  ARMENIAN,  FINNISH,  AND  YIDDISH  PRESS 


OJ)     m) 


ARMENIAN 

FINNISH 

YIDDISH 

{■propogandist 

306 

1        |OTHER 

THE  PRESS  REFLECTS  ITS  GROUP 

Curiously  enough,  it  is  the  Armenians,  Finns,  and 
Jews  who  have  the  largest  number  of  Socialist  readers. 
The  Armenians  have  seven  commercial  papers — and 
only  tw^o  propagandist  papers;  but  each  of  the  two 
Socialist  papers  has  a  circulation  of  5,000.  The  Finns 
have  six  Socialist  papers  and  three  I.  W.  W.  papers, 
and  the  Jews  have  six  radical  papers — one  anarchist, 
three  Socialist,  one  communist  party,  and  one  I.  W.  W. 
paper. 

INTEREST   OF   THE   READERS 

From  the  contents  of  the  press  it  is  possible  to  estimate 
the  extent  to  which  the  immigrant  peoples  liave  act- 
ually taken  root  in  the  United  States  and  accommodated 
themselves  to  the  forms,  conditions,  and  concrete  pur- 
poses of  American  life. 

If  we  represent  the  whole  intellectual  horizon  of  a 
language  group  by  a  circle,  we  may  characterize  the 
outlook  of  the  different  immigrant  areas,  with  reference 
to  their  interest  and  participation  in  American  life,  by 
the  segments  of  a  circle.  For  example,  the  attitudes  of 
the  peoples  we  have  called  settlers — i.e.,  the  Germans 
and  Scandinavians — might  be  defined  by  a  circle  in 
which  an  area  of  300  degrees  represented  interests  in 
American  life  and  an  area  of,  perhaps,  60  degrees  repre- 
sented interest  in  the  home  country. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  group  of  peoples  already  desig- 
nated as  exotic  might  be  represented  by  a  figure  the 
converse  of  this,  in  which  60  degrees  of  the  circle 
would  represent  interest  in  American  life,  and  300 
degrees  would  represent  interest  in  the  home  country. 
Between  these  would  fall  the  migrant  industrial  and 
the  colonists,  among  whom  interest  is,  perhaps,  equally 
divided  between  this  and  the  home  countries. 

The  ch'ef  distinction  between  the  migrant  industrials 
and  the  colonists  is  the  fact  that  the  former  are  mainly 

307 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

mobile  city  dwellers,  moving  from  one  industrial  center 
to  another,  living  always  under  all  the  influences,  ex- 
citements, and  provocations  of  the  cosmopolitan  life 
of  American  cities.  The  colonists,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  and  remain,  even  when  they  go  to  the  cities  for  work, 
provincial  and  small-town  people,  not  sharing  to  any 
great  extent  in  the  social  and  industrial  politics  which 
occupy  so  largely  the  attention  of  the  migrant  indus- 
trial's press. 

Among  the  immigrant  p>eoples  characterized  as  ex- 
otics all  the  conditions  of  life  co-operate  to  limit  par- 
ticipation in  the  common  and  cultural  interests  of 
American  life.    This  is  not  true,  however,  of  the  Jews. 

The  group  characterizations  attempted  in  this  chap- 
ter are  by  no  means  complete.  They  merely  indicate 
predominant  tendencies.  The  factors  which  determine 
the  character  of  any  individual  group  are  only  partly 
racial.  For  instance,  the  extent  to  which  an  immigrant 
settlement  has  been  absorbed  into  our  national  life 
depends  upon  the  number  of  generations  born  in  this 
country,  and  the  proportion  of  recent  immigrants  in 
the  group. 

This  brief  survey  of  the  press  cannot  give  a  composite 
picture  of  the  different  language  groups,  with  all  their 
interrelations,  similarities,  and  differences,  which  does 
justice  to  the  actual  situation.  A  detailed  study  of 
any  one  press  reveals  idiosyncrasies  which  can  be  under- 
stood only  after  an  intimate  study  of  the  immigrants 
themselves. 


XIII 

THE    STRUGGLE    FOR    EXISTENCE 

A  GREAT  many  foreign-language  papers  have  been 
started,  but  a  great  many  have  died.  It  is  easier  to 
start  a  foreign-language  than  an  English  paper.  Com- 
petition is  not  so  keen  and  not  so  much  capital  is  re- 
quired. They  die  because  they  are  not  well  conceived 
and  not  well  conducted.  The  birth  and  death  statistics 
of  immigrant  newspapers  are  a  more  or  less  accurate 
measure  of  the  immaturity  and  instability  of  this  press 
as  a  whole. 

FLUCTUATIONS   OF   liCMIGRANT   PRESS 

Each  year  for  the  last  thirty-five  years  there  have 
been  on  an  average  98  foreign-language  papers  started 
and  an  average  of  91  stopped.  As  can  be  seen  in 
Table  XV,  in  most  years  the  new  ones  have  exceeded 
in  number  the  ones  that  dropped  out. 

The  number  of  papers  started  increased  more  than 
60  per  cent  from  1914  to  1915,  and  remained  high  for 
three  years.  This  was  caused  by  the  great  eagerness 
for  news  of  the  warring  countries  of  Europe  on  the  part 
of  our  foreign-born  and  foreign-speaking  immigrants. 
Being  unable  to  read  the  English  press  they  clamored 
for  news  in  their  own  language,  and  upon  this  need  the 
foreign-language  newspaper  thrived.  After  1917  fewer 
papers  started  and  more  papers  stopped,  so  that  in 
1918  we  find  that  for  every  10  papers  started  14  have 
stopped.  The  follo\\nng  year  the  ratio  of  those  stop- 
ping to  every  10  that  started  increased  to  40,  although 
the  following  year  they  again  fell  to  15.8.     An  explana- 

309 


THE  IMISIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

TABLE  Xr 
'AwtJAL  BiRTn  Ratb  ajto  Death  Rat*  or  nra  Fonman-iMtov/iat  PtTBLiCATiows,  1885-1920 


Total  Pdbucatiox* 

Geiiman 

Except  Geruan 

STAnrnv 

Btoppid 

Per 

Sta 

i.TEI> 

6to 

■I-ED 

Per 

Yeas 

NCUSEB 

Num- 
ber 

Per 
cent 

Num- 
ber 

coat 

Stops 
Stauts 

Num- 
ber 

Per 
Cent 
OfAU 

Ncv- 

BEB 

Num- 
ber 

Per 

cent 

Num- 
ber 

Per 

cent 

Srori 
Stabt* 

1884 

794 

621 

78 

173 

1885 

822 

95 

12 

67 

8 

71 

653 

79 

169 

28 

17 

32 

19 

114 

1880 

884 

130 

15 

74 

9 

61 

679 

77 

205 

65 

32 

29 

14 

45 

1887 

897 

101 

11 

88 

10 

87 

687 

77 

210 

37 

18 

32 

15 

67 

1888. 

942 

134 

14 

89 

10 

66 

717 

76 

225 

57 

25 

42 

19 

74 

1889 

es4 

139 

14 

97 

10 

69 

735 

75 

249 

66 

27 

42 

17 

04 

1890........ 

1,028 

123 

12 

79 

8 

64 

750 

73 

278 

68 

24 

39 

14 

63 

1891 

1,053 

100 

10 

75 

7 

75 

763 

73 

290 

45 

16 

.33 

11 

70 

1894 

1,124 

120 

11 

49 

4 

40 

794 

71 

330 

73 

22 

33 

10 

45 

189»-94  .... 

1,170 

119 

10 

73 

7 

61 

796 

68 

874 

78 

21 

84 

9 

43 

1895 

1,176 

100 

9 

94 

8 

04 

789 

67 

387 

58 

15 

41 

11 

74 

1890........ 

1,181 

126 

11 

121 

10 

96 

787 

67 

394 

75 

19 

68 

17 

90 

1897 

1,201 

95 

8 

75 

6 

79 

788 

66 

413 

52 

13 

S3 

8 

63 

1898 » 

1,179 

94 

8 

116 

10 

81 

781 

66 

398 

48 

13 

63 

16 

13T 

1899 

1,199 

126 

10 

105 

9 

82 

773 

65 

426 

78 

13 

50 

12 

64 

1900 

1.163 

58 

5 

94 

8 

162 

750 

65 

413 

27 

7 

40 

10 

148 

1901...,..,. 

1.159 

70 

7 

80 

7 

105 

747 

65 

412 

38 

9 

39 

9 

lOO 

1902 

1,153 

52 

5- 

53 

5 

112 

737 

64 

416 

26 

7 

24 

6 

86 

1903 

1,169 

82 

7 

66 

6 

8d 

724 

62 

445 

63 

14 

34 

8 

54 

1904 

1;178 

90 

8 

81 

7 

.9(i 

721 

61 

457 

62 

14 

60 

U 

81 

1905 

1,176 

91 

8 

93 

8 

toi 

702 

60 

474 

60 

14 

49 

10 

74 

1906.., 

1,183 

82 

7 

75 

6 

91 

693 

59 

490 

04 

13 

48 

10 

75 

1907...' 

1,200 

99 

8 

82 

7 

«3 

672 

56 

528 

83 

10 

45 

9 

53 

1908... 

1.183 

89 

3 

106 

9 

119 

656 

66 

527 

07 

13 

08 

13 

10<J 

1909....,.-. 

1.207 

95 

8 

71 

6 

75 

649 

54 

558 

T3 

14 

42 

3 

57 

1910 

1,198 

70 

6 

79 

7 

lis 

634 

53 

564 

58 

10 

52 

9. 

9a 

1911 

1,196 

66 

6 

68 

6 

103 

627 

52 

569 

50 

9' 

45 

3 

90 

1914 

1,209 

83 

7 

70 

6 

84 

803 

50 

606 

73 

13 

30 

6 

49 

1913.. 

1,220 

98 

8 

87 

7 

89 

583 

48 

637 

74 

12 

.43 

7 

53 

1914 

1,231 

82 

7 

71 

9 

87 

564 

46 

667 

08 

10 

38 

6 

59 

1,264 

134 

11 

101 

8 

Vs 

533 

42 

731 

114 

10 

50 

7 

44 

1916 

1,277 

117 

9 

104 

i 

89 

519 

41 

698 

HI 

16 

72 

10 

65 

1,323 

138 

10 

92 

7 

66 

522 

40 

801 

110 

14 

67 

9 

61 

1918 

1,295 

72 

5 

101 

8 

140 

483 

37 

812 

63 

S 

52 

6 

83 

1919 

1,109 

62 

6 

248 

22 

400 

322 

29 

787 

65 

7 

80 

10 

145 

1920 

1,052 

99 

9 

156 

14 

158 

276 

26 

776 

94 

12 

K)5 

IS 

112 

Average   

1,142 

98 

9 

91 

8 

93 

663 

58 

478 

73 

15 

47 

10 

64 

tion  of  this  fluctuation  must  take  into  account  the 
German  papers  which  comprise  so  considerable  and 
important  a  section  of  the  foreign-language  press. 

In  1885  the  German  press  comprised  79  per  cent  of 
all  the  foreign-language  papers,  and  in  1920  it  com- 
prised 26  per  cent.    The  two  figures  indicate  roughly 

310 


HUNDREDS      ^    ^    ^    ^  ^ 

O     >-i     to     oj     ^     tn     cr>^     CP<o'o     >-ifo     CO'^ 


OB  O 


«o  a 

JO 

©  >. 

H 

n 


1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
-<1900 
p,1901 
^1902 
**1903 
aJ1904 
1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1912 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 
1919 
1920 


HUNDREDS 


O      l><       tS)      Ct>      «b 


THE  I^NIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

the  history  of  the  German  press  for  the  last  thirty 
years.  Although  outnumbering  all  other  foreign-lan- 
guage papers  by  large  margins,  it  has  been  steadily 
declining.  The  decrease  received  considerable  momen- 
tum from  the  war.  In  1914  the  German  papers  still 
represented  46  per  cent  of  all  foreign-language  papers, 
while  in  1920  they  had  shrunk  to  20  per  cent.  The  fact 
that  the  Germans  have  comprised  the  largest  single 
foreign-speaking  imm.igrant  group  explains  in  a  large 
measure  the  place  their  papers  hold  among  the  foreign- 
language  papers.  The  war  has  no  doubt  broken  the 
forces  sustaining  a  separate  press  for  this  group  and  its 
decline  may  safely  be  prophesied. 

Because  of  the  preponderate  proportion  of  German 
papers,  a  fairer  picture  may  perhaps  be  gained  of  the 
immigrant  press  if  the  German  figures  are  deducted. 
Figures  for  the  group  excluding  German  are  given  in 
the  preceding  table  and  diagram  from  1884  to  1920. 
For  no  year  is  so  high  a  ratio  of  deaths  to  births  found 
as  in  several  of  the  years  in  the  group  including  the 
German  papers.  On  an  average,  for  every  4  papers 
started,  3  stopped,  making  an  average  net  gain  of  one 
paper  in  four.  The  explanation  of  the  high  ratio  of 
deaths  to  births  in  the  last  two  years  is  probably  to  be 
found  in  tlie  financial  stringency  and  the  paper  short- 
age which  the  small  foreign-language  paper  was  unable 
to  weather,  as  well  as  in  the  lessened  interest  of  readers 
after  the  war.  It  is  too  early  to  conclude  that  the  for- 
eign-language press  as  a  whole  is  permanently  declin- 
ing. Certainly  every  evidence  points  to  the  decline  of 
the  German  press,  which  comprises  its  largest  portion. 

RA.CIAL  VARIATIONS 

An  analysis  of  the  papers  that  have  stopped  and 
started  in  the  different  foreign-language  groups  shows 

312 


THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  EXISTENCE 

TABLE    XVI 

Net  Increase,  Ntjmber  and  Ratio  op  Principal  Foreign- 
language  Publications  Started  and  Stopped,  by 
Language,  1884-1920 


Net 
In- 

CBEASE 

1884- 

-1920 

Per 

Language 

Number 
1920 

Number 
1884 

CENT 

Started 

Stopped 

Stops  to 
Starts 

German 

276 

—3453 

621 

1,197 

1,542 

129 

Spanish  ' 

118 

83 

35 

417 

334 

80 

Scandinavian  . . . 

111 

58 

53 

451 

393 

87 

Italian 

98 

91 

7 

267 

176 

66 

Polish 

76 

73 

3 

192 

119 

61 

Bohemian 

51 

39 

12 

154 

115 

75 

French 

46 

46 

155 

155 

100 

Slovenian  ^ 

42 

41 

1< 

75 

34 

45 

Yiddish 

39 

27 

33 
26 

0^ 
1 

95 
67 

62 
41 

65 

Hungarian 

61 

Finnish 

22 

20 

2< 

63 

43 

68 

Lithuanian 

16 

15 

1^ 

38 

23 

6,3 

Japanese 

15 

14 

1* 

24 

10 

42 

Greek 

15 

14 

1 

29 

15 

52 

Dutch 

13 

2 

11 

35 

S3 

94 

Russian 

11 

10 

1^ 

26 

16 

62 

Ukrainian.:.:..'. 

IT- 

-  — g- 

19 

-    11 

58 

Total 

1,052  ^ 

258 

794 

3,444 

3,186 

92 

Minus  German. 

776 

603 

173 

2,269 

1,666 

73 

'  Includes  Portuguese. 
*  Started  since  1884. 


'  Includes  Slovak. 
'  Includes  00  "others.' 


'  Decrease. 


definable    and    distinctive    tendencies.      (See    Table 
XVI.) 

From  1884  to  1920  there  was  a  total  net  increase  of 
258  foreign-language  papers,  or  33  per  cent.  During 
this  period  3,4-i4  new  papers  were  started,  3,186  went 
out  of  existence:  for  every  100  papers  started,  about  93 
stopped.    If  the  German  papers  are  deducted,  the  net 

313 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

increase  is  603  papers,  or  349  per  cent,  and  for  every 
100  papers  started  only  73  stopped. 

The  German  press  is  the  only  one  which  shows  a  net 
decrease  in  this  thirty-six-year  period.  The  French 
shows  the  same  number  of  papers  at  the  beginning  and 
the  end  of  the  period.  A  comparatively  small  per  cent 
of  increase  is  found  among  the  Dutch,  Scandinavian, 
Spanish,  and  Bohemian  papers.  These  language  groups 
represent  an  earlier  immigration  than  some  others  in 
the  table.  The  majority  of  the  press  of  the  recent  immi- 
grants has  come  into  existence  since  1884,  and  strik- 
ingly large  per  cents  of  net  increase  are  apparent,  as  for 
instance,  in  the  Slovenian,  Hungarian,  and  Polish  press. 

Again,  the  percentages  of  papers  that  have  started 
and  that  have  stopped  are  very  large  among  the  races 
of  the  newer  immigration.  They  are  also  the  races  that 
show  the  smallest  ratios  of  deaths  to  births. 

Although  in  the  majority  of  all  cases  over  half  as 
many  papers  die  as  start,  the  percentage  of  deaths  is 
higher  among  the  older  races,  such  as  the  German, 
with  a  ratio  of  129,  the  French  with  100,  the  Dutch 
with  94,  the  Scandinavian  with  87.  The  Japanese  with 
42  and  the  Slovenian  with  45  show  the  lowest  ratios. 
These  figures  all  point  to  the  fact  that  the  press  of  the 
earlier  immigration  is  in  general  declining,  that  of  the 
newer  is  increasing  or  holding  its  own.  There  is  ap- 
parent a  definite  relation  between  the  foreign-language 
press  and  immigration. 

THE   FACTOR   OF   IMMIGRATION 

The  composition  of  the  stream  of  immigration  indicates 
in  a  general  way  the  languages  composing  the  immi- 
grant press.  In  the  main,  the  immigrant  press  is  read 
by  the  more  recent  arrivals  of  each  immigrant  group. 

They  have  not  yet  learned  the  English  language,  and 

314 


ALL  PAPERS 


ALL  PAPERS 
EXCEPT  GERMAN 


DIAGRA-M  VI. — PROPORTION  OF  DEATHS  TO  BIRTHS  OF  FOREIGN- 
LANGUAGE  PAPERS,   1884-1920 


21 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

because  of  this  isolation  find  themselves  particularly  de- 
pendent upon  their  own  tongue  for  news  of  this  country 
as  well  as  of  their  native  country  and  their  own  people. 
Immigration,  therefore,  is  one  factor  in  the  support  of 
the  immigrant  press,  although  its  importance  varies 
with  the  different  races.  If  immigration  could  be  com- 
pared with  circulation  statistics,  a  more  accurate  estimate 
of  their  relationship  could  be  obtained.  Because  of  the 
incomplete  circulation  statistics,  numbers  of  foreign- 
language  publications  must  serve  as  a  substitute. 

The  best  figures  for  comparative  purposes  are  the 
country-of-birth  statistics  from  the  1900  census  for 
countries  where  a  single  language  is  spoken,  and  the 
corresponding  immigration  by  race  since  that  time,  as 
recorded  in  the  Commissioner  of  Immigration  reports. 
In  Table  XVII  the  percentage  of  increase  of  immi- 
gration can  be  compared  with  the  percentage  of  papers 
started  during  the  last  twenty  years. 

There  is,  in  the  main,  a  close  correspondence  between 
the  rank  of  the  different  countries  in  per  cent  of  increase 
of  immigration  and  papers  started  during  these  twenty 
years.  The  countries  showdng  the  highest  proportion 
of  immigrants  show  a  high  proportion  of  papers  started; 
and  conversely,  the  immigrants  who  are  arriving  in  pro- 
portionately smaller  numbers  have  started  fewer  papers. 

It  is,  perhaps,  surprising  to  many  to  find  that  of  all 
the  immigrants  listed  in  the  above  table,  the  Greeks 
show  the  largest  per  cent  of  increase  in  arrivals  since 
1900  as  well  as  in  the  papers  started  since  that  date. 
The  Japanese  and  Italians  follow  closely  in  these  re- 
spects. Among  the  Polish  there  has  apparently  been 
a  comparatively  greater  increase  in  arrivals  than  in  the 
papers  started,  and  the  reverse  is  true  of  the  Finnish. 
But,  taken  as  a  whole,  there  is  apparent  in  these  com- 
parisons a  close  relation  between  increase  in  papers 
started  and  increase  in  immigration. 

316 


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THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

A  further  indication  that  there  is  a  definite  relation 
between  the  supply  of  immigrants  and  their  press  is  to 
be  found  in  the  ratio  of  papers  started  to  papers  stopped. 
Among  the  races  that  are  supplying  the  new  immi- 
grants we  find  the  press  most  stable.  The  Japanese 
press  stands  at  the  top,  showing  that  for  every  10 
papers  started  during  the  period,  only  4  stopped. 
Among  the  Greek  papers  about  half  as  many  stopped 
as  started,  and  the  Polish,  Italian,  and  Finnish  press 
come  next,  with  about  7  papers  stopping  out  of  every 
10  papers  starting.  The  Dutch,  French,  German,  and 
Scandinavian,  which  are  the  groups  with  the  lowest 
per  cent  of  increase  of  arrivals,  show  the  highest  per 
cent  of  deaths  to  births. 

Diagram  VII  shows  the  rank  of  the  different  coun- 
tries with  respect  to  the  per  cent  of  increase  in  immi- 
gration and  the  percentages  of  papers  started  and 
papers  survived.  There  is  a  striking  division  of  the 
countries  into  those  from  which  the  older  immigration 
come  and  the  newer,  with  a  general  correlation  in  their 
rank  with  respect  to  the  three  facts. 

In  Table  XVHI  are  listed  the  number  of  foreign- 
language  papers  for  each  language,  from  ISS-i  to  1920. 
In  the  fluctuations  in  the  numbers  of  papers  of  each 
language  group  can  be  read  something  of  the  history 
of  their  press. 

THE   GERMAN   PRESS 

The  German  press  has  consistently  held  first  place  in 
the  number  of  publications  since  there  have  been  press 
statistics.  The  German  immigration  has  come  in  three 
great  waves,  their  peaks  having  been  reached  in  1854, 
1873,  and  1882,  with  decided  recessions  between.  Since 
1882  there  has  been  a  steady  falling  off,  so  that  although 
they  still  comprise  our  largest  foreign-speaking  group 
they  rank  only  third  in  number  of  arrivals  since  1900, 

318 


1920 


1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

1916 

1917 

1918 

1919 

1920 

11.207 

1.198 

1.1911 

1,209 

1,220 

1,231 

1.264 

1,277 

1.323 

1,295 

1.109 

1,052* 

r  558 

564 

569 

606 

637 

667 

731 

698 

801 

812 

787 

776 

2 
13 

5 
12 

6 
10 

4 

K      3 

3 

7 

10 

10 

13 

11 

8 

S 

4 

J  . 

5 

5 

7 

5 

5 

6 

7 

7 

3 

63 

7 

3 

62 

8 

3 

60 

9 
3 

a  55 

51 

44 

47 

52 

52 

55 

61 

51 

1    1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

:;  6 

6 

7 

7 

7 

7 

7 

6 

6 

6 

6 

7 

D   4 

8 

8 

9 

11 

11 

16 

16 

15 

13 

10 

9 

-  16 

15 

18 

16 

IS 

16 

18 

18 

20 

20 

21 

22 

-  33 

34 

32 

35 

36 

43 

45 

46 

45 

43 

41 

46 

J  649 

634 

627 

603 

583 

564 

533 

519 

522 

483 

322 

276 

S   8 

8 

9 

14 

12 

10 

16 

16 

16 

18 

19 

15 

I  19 

21 

22 

23 

23 

31 

38 

37 

44 

45 

43 

39 

1  18 

21 

20 

19 

18 

19 

19 

19 

17 

17 

16 

13 

1  10 

12 

9 

8 

15 

19 

21 

20 

24 

27 

26 

27 

i    75 

73 

73 

77 

84 

86 

96 

93 

103 

110 

103 

98 

.   9 

9 

11 

12 

13 

16 

16 

18 

17 

18 

16 

15 

1 
14 

3 
14 

3 
14 

4 
18 

4 

16 

4 
19 

4 

17 

1 
17 

o 

.  11 

11 

14 

16 

1 
77 

1 

78 

1 
80 

1 

►  45 

51 

48 

56 

61 

61 

68 

71 

76 

9 

8 

10 

10 

13 

14 

12 

16 

17 

16 

17 

18 

t   1 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

3 

3 

5 

5 

*i 

t   4 

4 

9 

7 

5 

5 

8 

8 

11 

14 

13 

" 

,  149 

139 

132 

128 

129 

131 

134 

130 

132 

126 

119 

111  * 

,    1 

1 

2 

2 

6 

7 

9 

11 

9 

8 

7 

7 

1   >i 

7 

8 

10 

11 

11 

10 

10 

11 

14 

14 

14 

1   14 

16 

17 

15 

13 

18 

19 

21 

24 

24 

27 

28 

,   52 

55 

58 

72 

6S 

64 

73 

88 

84 

87 

86 

100 

)   1 

1 

1 

2 

5 

6 

7 

12 

11 

9 

9 

10 

(   2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

- 

2 

2 

>> 

2 

2 

2 

TABLE  XVm 

Number  of  Papers  m  Foreign  Languages  in  the  United  States  for  Each  Year,  1884-1940 


= — 

18S4 

1S85  1886 

1887 

1888 

1889 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893- 
1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 
1.199 

1900 

1001 
1,159 

1902 

1903 
1.169 

1904 

1905 

1900 

1907 

1908 

1909 
1.207 

1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

1916 

1917 

1018 
1.295 

1910 
1.109 

1820 

ll 

794 

822 

881 

897 

942 

984 

1.028 
278 

1.053 
290 

1,124 
330 

1.170 

1.176 

1.181 

1.201 
413 

1.179 
398 

1.163 

1.153 
416 

1.178 
457 

1.176 

1.183 

1.200 
528 

1.183 

1.198 
564 

1,190 

1.209 
606 

1.220 

1.231 

1.2M 
731 

1.277 

1,323 
801 

1.052< 

i  Leas  Gorman. . . 

173 

lfi9 

205 

210 

225 

249 

.374 

387 

394 

426 

413 

412 

445 

474 

490 

527 

558 

660 

637 

607 

098 

812 

787 

776 

— 

2 
13 
7 
3 

03 
1 
0 
15 
20 
45 
,522 
10 
44 
17 
24 
1113 
.7 
4 
19 

77 

5 
12 
7 
3 
62 

1 

0 
13 
20 
43 
483 
18 
45 
17 
27 
110 
18 

4 
17 

1 

6 
10 
8 
3 
00 

1 

6 
10 
21 
41 
322 
19 
43 
10 
26 
103 
10 

1 
17 

1 

4 

1 
3 

1 
I 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

2 

1 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 
2 

2 
2 

2 
5 

2 
7 

2 
6 

3 

4 

3 
5 

7 
5 

10 

7 

10 
5 

13 
6 

11 

6 

8 
7 

8 

o... 

1 

2 

3 

9 

01.....^. 

3 

.o-Flemis  . 

12 

15 

21 

19 

23 

20 

23 

24 

28 

33 

32 

35 

35 

30 

47 

44 

44 

44 

44 

45 

43 

42 

48 

50 

55 
1 
6 
4 

16 
.33 
049 
8 
19 
18 
10 

9 

51 
1 
6 
S 
15 
34 
634 
8 
21 
21 
12 
73 
9 

44 
1 

7 

8 
18 
32 
627 

9 
22 
20 

9 
73 
11 

47 

1 
7 
9 
16 
35 
603 
14 
23 
19 
8 
77 
12 

14 

1 
7 
11 
IS 
30 
683 
12 
23 
18 
15 
84 
13 
3 
14 

52 
1 
7 
11 
16 
43 
504 
10 
31 
10 
19 
86 
16 
3 
14 

55 
1 
7 
10 
18 
45 
533 
16 
38 
19 
21 
96 
16 
4 
18 

61 
1 

6 
16 
18 
40 
519 
10 
37 
19 
20 
93 
18 
4 
10 

51 

m 

1 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

3 

3 

2 

3 

4 

3 

3 

3 

6 

49 

773 

1 
14 
17 

30 

1 

3 
3 

8 
49 
750 

1 
10 
18 

5 
35 

4 
2 
6 
44 
747 
1 

le 

19 
5 

36 
2 

4 
2 
6 
43 

737 
1 
10 
18 
5 
39 
3 

4 

3 
12 
45 
724 

1 
17 
17 

6 
42 

4 

4 

3 
11 
37 
721 

1 
19 
18 

5 
46 

4 

5 

2 
11 
41 
702 

1 
IS 
17 

7 
57 

5 

5 

3 
11 
41 
693 

2 
18 
16 

7 
63 

2 

5 
4 
16 
36 

672 
7 
17 
10 
0 
71 
3 

5 

3 
15 
32 
656 

9 
17 
10 

8 
70 

5 

7 

9 

2 
37 
653 

3 

45 
079 

3 

4S 
C87 

4 
45 
717 

3 
44 

735 

5 
44 
750 

4 
44 
763 

6 
51 

704 

5 
47 
796 

4 
49 

789 
1 
ir. 
19 

3 
17 

4 
48 
7S7 

1 
16 
18 

3 
24 

3 
50 

788 
1 
13 
IS 
3 
29 
1 

4 

60 
781 

1 
15 
17 

4 

29 

1 

22 

4B 
621 

46 

276 

15 

9W' 

11 
1 

7 

13 

1 
6 

11 
1 

12 
1 
7 

13 

1 
9 

6 
13 
1 

12 

7 
14 

4 
11 

7 
14 

5 
13 

11 
10 
3 
14 

14 
19 
3 
15 

39 
13 

27 

03 
15 

2 

1 

1 

1 

1 

2 

3 

4 

^ 

5 

5 

6 

6 

5 

6 

6 

7 

8 

10 

10 

10 

11 

11 

14 

16 

1 

3 

4 

6 

5 

10 

13 

15 

16 

17 
3 

22 
3 

24 
3 

33 
3 

34 
5 

37 
4 

40 
4 

39 
4 

41 
3 

44 
4 

45 
5 

4S 
6 

44 
6 

42 
7 

53 
6 

46 
8 

45 
9 
1 

4 
140 

1 

14 
52 

1 
2 

51 

8 
2 
4 

139 
1 
7 
16 
55 
1 
2 

48 
10 
2 
9 
132 
2 
8 
17 
S8 
1 
2 

50 

61 

61 
14 

2 
5 
131 
7 
11 
IS 
04 
6 
2 

68 

71 

78    80 
10    17 
6     5 

76 

J 

10    13 

2     2 

7     5 

128   129 

2     6 

12  1   10    17 
2  1    3     3 

1 
61 

1 
75 

1 
84 

1 
96 

1 
104 

117 

3 

135 

3 
137 

2 
131 

2 
139 

2 
129 

2 

131 

1 
7 

127 
1 
7 

128 
1 
7 

2 

124 

1 

7 

3 

123 

1 

11 

3 

133 

1 

13 

3 
134 
1 
4 
9 
52 

1 
135 
1 
6 
9 
.  58 

2 

138 

7 
9 
61 

1 

2 
140 

7 
10 
51 

1 

8     8    11  1   14  1   13 

111 
7 

inaviao 

S3 

54 

63 

134 
0 
10 
19 

73 

130   132 
11     9 
10    11 

wn 

1 

I 

1 

3 

4 

6 

8 

8 

8 

10 
15 

72 
2 
2 

11 
13 

OS 

2 

24    27    28 

88     M 
12     1 

■b    

35 

29 

42 

45 

36 

43 

49 

48 

48 

56 

00 

53 

57 

48 

47 

39 

41 

42 

51 

46 

9     9    K 

5 

5 

5 

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5 

6 

5 

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6 

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4 

3 

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3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

2 

2,    2| 

^  iDcluded  uDder  Spanish  until  1S92 


>  Included  under  Slovenitm  until  1905. 


•  Includes  9  "other." 


RACE 


PER    CENT 


DIAGRAM  VII. — RANKS  OF  RACES  IN  PER  CENT  INCREASE  IN 
IMUnGRATION,  PER  CENT  OP  PAPERS  STARTED,  AND  PER 
CENT  OF   PAPERS   SURVIVED,    1901-1920 


THE  IIMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

listed  in  Table  XVH.  The  German  immigrants  have 
been  readers,  and  also  established  strong  rural  com- 
munities, so  the  large  number  of  small  rural  papers 
have  been  maintained  for  a  long  succession  of  years. 

The  largest  number  of  German  papers  are  reported 
for  1893-94,  but  the  decline  since  then  has  been  much 
slower  than  the  decline  in  immigration.  Since  1900, 
376  new  papers  have  started,  but  so  large  a  number 
have  stopped  that  the  German  press  may  soon  relin- 
quish first  place  with  respect  to  numbers  of  papers. 
According  to  Paul  Mueller,  editor  of  the  largest  German 
daily,  the  Aheyidpost,  of  Chicago,  the  German  press 
cannot  last  as  a  commercial  enterprise  unless  there  is 
post-war  immigration.  However,  the  German  press 
has  outlasted  Germ.an  immigration  more  tenaciously 
than  the  press  of  other  foreign-speaking  groups  has  per- 
sisted after  their  immigration  peak. 

SCANDINAVIAN   PRESS 

The  combined  Danish,  Norwegian,  and  Swedish  papers 
held  second  place  in  number  of  publications  in  1920. 
The  Scandinavian  races  show  the  smallest  per  cent 
of  increase  in  number  of  immigrants  since  1899.  Their 
great  immigration  was  in  the  last  two  decades  of  the 
last  century,  the  peak  being  1882,  as  in  the  German 
immigration.  It  was  in  this  period  that  their  press 
made  great  strides.  In  1884,  according  to  Ayer's,  there 
were  53  Scandinavian  papers,  and  in  1894  there  were 
135.  Although  in  1909  there  were  149  papers,  the 
Scandinavian  papers  maintained  a  fairly  steady  level 
until  after  the  war.  Since  then  their  number  has  been 
declining,  according  to  Ayer's. 

LIFE    HISTORY    OF    THE    NORWEGIAN    PRESS 

Although  it  is  not  possible  to  secure  more  accurate  data 
about  the  Scandinavian  press  as  a  whole,  the  most 

320 


THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  EXISTENCE 

nearly  complete  statistics  on  any  immigrant  press  were 
compiled  for  the  Norwegian  press  by  the  Rev.  O.  M. 
Norlie,  in  the  Congregational  Calendar,^  published  in 
1918  by  the  United  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church.    This 


DIAGRAM  VIII. — COMPARISON  OF  THE  PER  CENTS  OF  INCREASE 
OF  THE  NORWEGIAN  POPULATION,  PRESS,  AND  CIRCULA- 
TION,  1 850-1 9!20 


1850    I860    1870    1880    1890    1900    1910.   1S20 


shows  the  strength  and  location  of  the  Norwegian 
Lutheran  congregations  and  of  the  Norwegian  com- 
munity.   Mr.  Norlie's  statistics  make  it  possible  to  get 

*  Rev.  0.  M.  Norlie,  "  Study  of  the  Norwegian  Press,"  (manuscript.) 
321 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

a  picture  of  the  entire  life-and-death  history  of  a  for- 
eign-lanj^iiage  press,  as  they  inchide  all  the  Norwegian 
papers  that  have  been  started  in  the  United  States. 

The  struggle  for  existence  of  the  Norwegian  press  is 
not  typical  of  every  foreign-language  press.  The  Nor- 
wegians are  perhaps  tlie  most  rural  of  the  settler  groups, 
while  the  newer  immigration  is  urban  and  migratory. 
But  just  because  the  Norwegians  are  an  older  immigra- 
tion who  already  have  a  first,  second,  and  third  genera- 
tion in  the  United  States,  all  of  whom  have  learned  to 
read  the  American  papers,  the  relation  between  the 
population  and  the  press  is  a  matter  of  interest  (see 
Diagram  VIII).    Although  the  Norwegian  press  goes 


DIAGRAM  IX. — DISTRIBUTION  OF  NORWEGIAN  POPULATION  AND 
PRESS  READERS  IN  RURAL  AND  URBAN  COMMUNITIES 


POPULATION 

IHlBURAL 


PRESS 
CONSTITUENCY 

cm  URBAN 


back  to  1847,  it  has  so  far  shown  no  tendency  to  de- 
crease, according  to  Norlie,  Tvho  includes  many  papers 
not  covered  by  Ayer.  During  the  period  between  1847 
and  1918  there  were  458  Norwegian  papers  started,  of 
which  115  were  in  existence  in  1918,  practically  the 
maximum  number  at  any  time.  This  makes  a  total  of 
343  deaths. 

Many  Norwegian  immigrants  drifted  into  the  rural 
counties  of  Iowa,  Minnesota,  and  the  Dakotas.    Min- 

322 


THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  EXISTENCE 

nesota  has  the  largest  number  of  Norwegian  papers 
and  the  largest  percentage  of  living  papers. 

It  is  among  the  rural  population  that  the  Norwegian 
papers  are  read.  Although  only  53  per  cent  of  the 
Norwegian  population  was  rural,  75  per  cent  of  the 
press  circulation  was  in  rural  communities  in  1906. 

DIAGRAM    X. — DISTRIBUTION    OF    NORWEGIAN    PAPERS    AMONG 
THREE   CLASSES 


ICULTURAL 
RELIGIOUS 


CZIpolitical  & 

NEWS 


The  Norwegian  press  is  not  predominantly  commer- 
cial.   The  interest  of  a  settler  press  centers  in  local  and 
religious  news.     The  Norwegians  and  other  Scandi-. 
navian  groups  no  longer  depend  primarily  for  their! 
news  of  the  world  on  the  Norwegian  press.    They  get 


DIAGRAM    Xr. CIRCUIiATION    OF  NORWEGIAN  PAPERS  BY  LAN- 
GUAGE  OF   PAPERS 


ENGLISH 


NORWEGIAN 
&  ENGLISH 

i     [NORWEGIAN 


that  from  reading  American  newspapers.  Only  49  per 
cent  of  the  Norwegian  papers  deal  with  politics  and 
current  news,  and  36  per  cent  are  religious  papers;  17 
per  cent  are  cultural  and  reform. 

323 


THE  BmiGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

As  so  many  Norwegians  can  no  longer  read  the  old 
language  or  cannot  read  it  easily,  some  of  the  Norwegian 
papers  are  printed  in  both  English  and  Norwegian  and 
some  are  now  printed  entirely  in  English.  This  change 
is  usually  made  first  by  the  church  publications,  which 
do  not  want  to  lose  their  hold  on  the  younger  generation. 

Mr.  Norlie's  statistics  show  that  the  number  of  Nor- 
wegian papers  and  the  circulation,  at  least  for  the  war 
period,  have  not  decreased.  According  to  Ayer,  how- 
ever, who  does  not  include  the  religious  organs,  the 
commercial  Norwegian  press  is  not  gro^-ing. 

SPANISH    PRESS 

The  Spanish  press,  without  the  Portuguese,  ranked  third 
in  the  number  of  publications  in  1920.  It  had  35 
publications  in  1884  and  has  shown  a  fairly  steady  in- 
crease since  that  time.  It  reached  72  in  1912  and  has 
maintained  this  high  number,  reaching  100  in  1920. 
This  trend  has  followed  the  immigration  fairly  closely. 
Spanish  immigration,  chiefly  from  Mexico,  began  to 
increase  appreciably  in  1907,  with  over  10,000,  reached 
over  17,000  in  1917,  and  over  27,000  in  1920.  This  is 
apparently  a  group  whose  press  responds  rapidly  to 
increased  numbers  of  immigrants  speaking  Spanish. 
The  press  is  closely  related  in  both  numbers  and  locality 
to  its  constituency. 

ITALIAN   AND   POLISH   PRESS 

The  Italian  and  Polish  language  groups  show  parallel 
developments.  The  amount  of  immigration  for  both 
ranks  high,  and  has  been  steadily  increasing  in  this 
century.  Both  reached  their  peak  at  about  the  same 
time  that  the  war  broke  out  in  Europe.  With  the  in- 
crease in  immigration  has  come  a  steady  and  consistent 

324 


THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  EXISTENCE 

increase  in  the  numbers  of  publications.  In  1884  there 
were  7  Italian  and  3  Polish  publications,  and  in  19-20 
the  Italian,  with  98,  still  exceeded  the  Polish,  with  76. 

BOHEMIAN   PRESS 

The  Bohemian  group  had  51  publications  in  1920, 
ranking  sixth  in  this  respect.  This  group  has  had  com- 
paratively few  immigrants  arriving  in  the  last  twenty 
years.  Since  race  records  have  been  kept,  the  number 
reached  the  peak  in  1906,  when  more  than  12,000 
Bohemian  immigrants  arrived.  Although  there  is  no 
way  of  isolating  the  number  previous  to  1899,  the 
Bohemian  immigration  was  an  early  one,  and  papers 
have  been  maintained  consistently  for  a  longer  period 
of  time  than  among  many  other  groups.  Starting  \\-ith 
12  in  1884  there  has  been  a  steady  development,  which 
reached  51  in  1920.  This  press  represents  one  of  the 
older  racial  groups  which,  probably,  will  support  a 
foreign-language  press  less  and  less. 

THE   FRENCH   PRESS 

The  French  press  stands  next  to  the  Bohemian  press, 
with  46  publications  in  1920,  Although  it  shows  a 
slight  decrease  since  1900  it  has,  on  the  whole,  main- 
tained a  fixed  level.  There  were  46  publications  in  1884, 
and  although  there  was  a  slight  decline  in  the  number 
from  1907  to  1913,  with  the  war  the  number  increased, 
until  46  was  again  reached. 

In  1908  the  stream  of  the  French-speaking  immigra- 
tion began  to  widen.  It  did  not  decrease  as  much  as 
many  groups  during  the  war,  and  reached  its  peak  in 
1920  when  more  than  27,000  French-speaking  people 
came  into  the  country.  The  major  portion  of  this 
number  has  come  from  Canada,  and  the  new  influx  of 

325 


THE  EVBIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

French-speaking  immigrants  no  doubt  accounts  for  the 
revival  of  the  French  press  in  the  last  decade. 


THE  HEBREW  AND   YIDDISH   PRESS 

The  Hebrew  and  Yiddish  press  combined  ranks  eighth 
with  39  papers,  although  the  Hebrew  race  is  repre- 
sented by  one  of  the  largest  groups  of  immigrants  ad- 
mitted to  this  country.  The  Yiddish  press  was  not 
recorded  separately  in  Ayer's  until  1914,  when  30  Yid- 
dish papers  were  recorded  and  1  Hebrew.  The  first 
Jewish  papers  (6)  were  recorded  in  1889,  and  since  then 
there  has  been  a  steady  increase.  During  this  period 
Yiddish,  as  a  written  language,  has  developed  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  great  immigration  of  Jews.  The  Jew- 
ish press  includes  some  big  daily  papers  with  very  large 
circulations,  so  that  while  not  extensive  in  numbers, 
through  its  Made  circulation  it  reaches  a  high  propor- 
tion of  its  people.  It  has  the  largest  circulation  next 
to  the  German  press  of  any  foreign-language  press. 

DEPENDENCE  ON  TATMTGRA.TION 

The  data  all  point  to  the  fact  that  the  foreign  press  is 
a  phenomenon  of  immigration.  If  there  were  no  non- 
English-speaking  arrivals,  in  a  few  years  there  would 
be  no  immigrant  press.  Since  it  is  fed  by  new  arrivals, 
its  existence  will  largely  depend  upon  our  immigration 
policy.  Inevitably,  as  the  older  immigrants  learn  the 
language  of  the  country  their  foreign-language  press 
will  be  replaced  by  the  English  press. 

The  closeness  with  which  the  press  follows  immigra- 
tion varies  with  the  different  races  and  the  many  factors 
involved.  The  German  press  showed  itself  particu- 
larly tenacious  for  a  long  period  of  years  after  the  peak 
of  German  immigration  had  been  reached.    The  French 

326 


THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  EXISTENXE 

press  seemed  to  maintain  a  relatively  steady  position 
in  spite  of  wide  variations  in  numbers  of  immigrants. 
The  more  recent  Slavic  and  other  groups  seem  quickly 
to  have  established  their  presses  as  the  tide  of  their 
immigration  rises. 

The  quality  and  characteristics  of  each  group,  as 
well  as  the  numbers  of  immigrants,  will  undoubtedly 
affect  its  press.  Whether  they  become  urban  or  rural 
dwellers,  whether  they  enter  stationary  or  transient 
occupations,  whether  they  are  accustomed  to  read  or 
not,  all  will  influence  their  reliance  upon  and  support 
of  their  own  press.  The  outstanding  fact  is,  there  must 
be  a  non-English-speaking  nucleus  or  the  foreign-lan- 
guage press  is  without  a  constituency. 


XIV 

THE   SURVIVAL   OF   THE   FITTEST 

From  the  struggle  for  existence  among  immigrant  news- 
papers, the  commercial  paper,  the  paper  conducted  for 
the  purpose  of  making  money,  will  be  seen  to  emerge 
triumphant. 

The  daily  newspaper,  as  at  present  organized,  is 
mainly  a  device  for  capturing  and  centering  public 
attention.  Since  the  telegraph  and  the  telephone  have 
converted  the  world  into  a  vast  whispering  gallery, 
there  is  no  limit  to  the  materials  from  which  a  news- 
paper can  be  made.  The  problem  of  editing,  therefore, 
is  largely  a  matter  of  selection.  Out  of  all  the  events 
that  happen  and  are  recorded  every  day  by  corre- 
spondents, reporters,  and  the  news  agencies,  the  editor 
chooses  certain  items  for  publication  which  he  regards 
as  more  important  or  more  interesting  than  others. 
The  remainder  he  condemns  to  oblivion  and  the  waste 
basket.  There  is  an  enormous  amount  of  news  "  killed  " 
every  day. 

Having  selected  the  news  from  which  he  proposes  to 
make  the  next  morning's  journal,  the  editor  then  grades 
each  item  according  to  its  importance.  Some  of  it 
he  has  rewritten  in  order  to  put  it  in  a  more  strikmg 
and  attractive  form.  Much  of  it  he  condenses,  accord- 
ing to  the  interest  and  importance  he  conceives  it  to 
have  at  the  hour  of  publication.  As  all  news  has 
merely  relative  value,  the  space  which  an  item  is  des- 
tined to  occupy,  its  position  on  the  page,  and  the  size 
of  the  headline  which  will  announce  it  are  not  finally 
determined  until  the  paper  goes  to  press.    The  relative 

328 


THE  SURVWAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

value  of  every  item  that  eventually  goes  to  make  up 
the  contents  of  a  daily  paper  changes  every  hour  of  the 
day,  as  new  information  reaches  the  editor's  desk  which 
compels  him  to  modify  his  earlier  estimates.  Thus, 
during  the  whole  time  that  a  newspaper  is  in  prepara- 
tion, every  single  item  that  goes  to  make  it  is  involved 
in  a  struggle  for  existence  with  every  other  item.  Every 
single  item  is  in  competition  with  every  other  item, 
first  for  mere  existence  and  then  for  position  and  status 
in  the  paper  as  it  is  finally  printed.  News  that  held  a 
place  of  importance  in  the  early  editions  is  relegated  to 
the  back  pages  or  thro\\'n  away  altogether — "killed," 
in  the  later  editions. 

The  ideal  arrangement  which  everj'  managing  editor 
aims  to  achieve  is  one  in  which,  in  every  issue  of  the 
paper,  there  shall  be  one,  and  not  more  than  two, 
pieces  of  big  news,  something  that  will  focus  the  atten- 
tion of  readers  and  make  the  topic  of  their  conversa- 
tion for  the  day  of  issue.  If  one  paper  should  have  an 
item  of  news  that  commanded  the  attention  of  the  pub- 
lic, and  a  rival  and  competing  paper  did  not  have  that 
same  item,  that  would  be  a  "scoop,"  and  a  "big  scoop" 
is  a  catastrophe  for  the  paper  that  is  "scooped."  In 
the  long  run,  the  fate  of  reporters,  correspondents,  the 
editor,  and  even  the  paper  itself,  is  determined  by  the 
ability  of  editors  and  reporters  to  get  the  news  in  com- 
petition with  the  reporters  and  editors  of  other  papers 
in  the  same  class  and  appealing  to  the  same  public. 

The  newspaper  may  be  said  to  perform,  for  the  pub- 
lic and  the  "public  mind,"  the  function  of  attention  in 
the  individual.  The  individual  is  assailed  by  innumer- 
able stimulations.  Attention  intervenes  as  a  selective 
mechanism  to  determine  at  every  moment  the  relative 
importance  of  each  one  of  these  stimulations.  Most 
of  them  are  wholly  inhibited  and  thrust  out  of  con- 
sciousness altogether.    Some  one  or  two  get  represented 

329 


THE  BD^IIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

in  the  focus  of  consciousness  in  the  form  of  mental 
images.  The  remainder  are  pushed  back  into  the  mar- 
gin of  consciousness,  where  they  occupy  a  position  and 
exercise  an  "influence"  that  is  subordinate  to  those 
represented  in  the  focus  of  consciousness.  In  the  case 
of  the  newspaper  and  the  pubUc,  news  items  play  the 
role  of  mental  images  in  the  individual,  and  publica- 
tion and  publicity  perform  a  function  for  the  com- 
munity analogous  to  that  of  consciousness  in  the  in- 
divid  ial.  The  press,  in  so  far  as  it  succeeds  in  capturing 
and  centering  the  public  attention,  becomes  an  organ 
of  social  control,  a  mechanism  tlirough  which  the  com- 
munity acts,  so  far  as  the  community  can  be  said  to 
act.  It  is  this  that  defines  the  function  of  the  press 
and  makes  its  role  in  the  community  intelligible. 

It  is  thus  apparent  that  in  selecting  his  materials 
the  editor  is  not  as  arbitrary  and  willful  as  is  popularly 
assumed.  He  chooses  what  he  knows  will  interest  his 
public.  In  this  way  the  public  exercises  a  control  over 
tlie  form  and  content  of  the  press  which,  in  the  long 
run,  is  considerable. 

Evidently  the  commercial  press  has  discovered  the 
kind  of  reading  matter  the  majority  of  the  newspaper 
public  wants.  This  press  emphasizes  the  news  as  such. 
The  situation  is  somewhat  different  with  the  two  other 
forms  of  journals — i.e.,  organs,  and  journals  of  opinion 
or  propaganda  papers. 

ORGANS 

The  circulation  of  an  organ  is  frequently  guaranteed 
by  membership  in  an  organization.  In  the  strict  sense 
of  the  word,  an  organ  is  not  a  newspaper  at  all;  it  is 
merely  an  administrative  device  for  carrying  on  tbe 
work  of  a  society  or  an  institution.  Every  institution, 
political  organization,  or  business  finds  it  convenient, 

330 


THE  SURVIV.\L  OF  THE  FITTEST 

when  it  has  attained  a  certain  size  and  a  certain  com- 
plexity of  organization,  to  maintain  a  journal.  Such  a 
publication  becomes  at  once  a  medium  of  commmiica- 
tion  and  a  means  of  maintaining  morale.  Among  the 
immigrant  peoples  this  point  is  reached  whenever  an 
organization — religious,  fraternal,  nationalistic — ceases 
to  be  a  mere  local  and  becomes  a  national  institution. 
The  readers  of  an  organ  are  held  by  interest  in  a  com- 
mon business. 

JOUHNALS  OF  OPINION 

Closely  related  to  the  organs  are  the  propagandist 
papers,  of  which  the  best  examples  are  the  Socialist  and 
radical  journals.  These  papers  are  likewise  called  "or- 
gans," but  there  is  this  distinction  between  a  political 
and  propagandist  paper  and  an  organ  in  the  strict 
sense  of  the  term.  The  propagandist  paper  is  seeking 
circulation;  it  is  constantly  seeking  new  readers  out- 
side the  circle  it  represents.  It  is  addressed,  therefore, 
not  primarily  to  the  members  of  the  organization  or 
the  party  it  represents,  but  to  the  public.  It  is  seeking 
new  readers  because  new  readers  mean  new  supporters 
of  the  party  or  the  cause  for  which  the  paper  exists. 
The  Jewish  Daily  Forward  (mentioned  in  Chapter  IV) 
is  a  good  example  of  the  propagandist  press. 

The  propagandist  paper  does  not  depend,  like  the 
organ,  on  business  interests,  but  on  mtellectual  inter- 
ests, which  are  more  tenuous  and  more  difficult  to 
organize.  In  these  papers  the  editorials — that  is  to 
say,  the  comment  upon  and  interpretation  of  the  news, 
are  relatively  more  important  than  the  news.  But 
opinions  are  devisive,  and  the  journal  that  emphasizes 
opinions  usually  becomes  the  spokesman  of  a  party  or 
a  clique,  and  thus  makes  room  for  another  paper  repre- 
senting an  opposing  party.  In  that  case,  they  divide 
the  reading  pubUc  between  them.  Not  infrequently 
22  331 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROI 

party  papers  are  able  to  gain  circulation  by  creating 
interest  in  a  conflict.  But  opinions  are  unstable,  and 
discussion  prospers  only  where  there  is  division.  As 
new  schools  of  opinion  arise  they  demand  new  journals 
to  represent  them. 

The  propagandist  press,  although  it  includes  a  few 
nationalist  papers,  is  almost  wholly  radical.  There 
were,  during  the  war,  as  many  as  240  radical  papers 
published  in  the  American  language,  and  there  are  not 
half  a  dozen  journals  of  opinion  for  the  more  conserva- 
tive. But  while  the  radical  papers  are  many,  the 
circulation  is  usually  small.  Intellectual  interest  seems 
to  be  productive  rather  of  a  by-product  of  unrest  than 
of  a  conspicuous  attainment  of  prosperity.  Radical 
opinion  is  always  that  of  a  minority,  and  the  smaller 
the  minority  the  more  radical  the  paper. 

The  Dziennik  Ludowy,  a  Polish  Socialist  daily,  which 
was  interested  in  the  nationalistic  issue  during  the  war, 
and  was  the  most  important  of  the  papers  that  sup- 
ported Pilsudski,  has  a  circulation  of  22,050.  The  Ro- 
botiiik  Polski,  established  in  1895,  represents  the  more 
radical  element — the  Polish  miners  of  Pennsylvania.  It 
is  now  a  communist  paper,  and  has  a  circulation  of 
only  4,000.  Also,  the  hfe  of  the  radical  paper  is  apt  to 
be  brief.  Of  the  Polish  Socialist  papers  which  have 
gone  out  of  existence,  the  Lila  lasted  two  years,  the 
Postern  Lila  three  years,  and  the  Naprzod  five  years. 

The  editorial  experiences  of  Miroslav  Sichinsky,  a 
Ukrainian  intellectual,  political  refugee,  and  newspaper 
man,  are  characteristic.  They  illustrate  the  instability 
of  the  propagandist  press,  the  ease  with  which  new 
papers  come  into  existence,  and  the  suddenness  with 
which  they  disappear.  They  illustrate,  also,  the  shifts 
and  changes  to  which  an  immigrant  intellectual  is 
sometimes  driven  in  order  to  keep  his  balance  in  a 
changing  world.     They  are  interesting,  also,  because 

S32 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

they  illuminate  an  interior,  and  offer  a  glimpse  into 
the  inner  life  of  a  language  group  that  is  otherwise 
almost  completely  closed  to  us. 

I  came  to  America  in  the  autumn  of  1914,  a  political  refugee 
from  eastern  Galicia.  ...  I  had  never  had  any  connection 
with  newspapers  in  Europe,  except  to  write  a  few  articles  in 
my  student  days  for  the  Ukrainian  newspai>er  Zemlia  i  Volia 
(Land  and  Freedom)  in  Lemberg. 

Shortly  after  my  arrival  in  this  country  I  had  dealings  with 
the  publishers  of  Svoboda,  the  largest  Ukrainian  paper  in  the 
United  States,  issued  triweekly  in  Jersey  City.  I  was  not  a 
member  of  the  staff,  but  I  co-operated  with  the  editors  in 
another  matter.  Presently  the  paper  began  to  assume  a  very 
market]  pro-Austrian  and  pro-German  attitude,  which  seemed 
to  me  unfortunate.  They  published  editorials  sharply  criti- 
cizing American  materialism,  and  praising  the  German  stand. 
I  remember  in  particular  one  laudatory  article  about  an 
Austrian  archduke  who  had  petted  a  Ukrainian  child  during 
a  visit  to  Galicia.  After  this  I  tried  to  convince  tlie  e<litors 
of  Svoboda  that  they  were  making  a  mistake,  but  without 
success.  At  a  public  meeting  in  Chicago  I  spoke  openly 
against  the  Austrian  government  because  of  the  massacres 
of  the  Ukrainian  population  which  it  had  sanctioned  in  eastern 
Galicia.  Svoboda  replied,  indirectly  attacking  me.  Our  re- 
lations became  more  strained,  and  soon  we  were  working 
entirely  at  cross  -  purposes.  I  and  my  associates  in  the 
Ukrainian  Fetieration  continued  to  attack  the  Austrian 
regime,  and  Svoboda  began  attacking  us.  Eventually  a  meet- 
ing of  the  general  committee  of  the  Ukrainian  Federation  was 
called,  and  the  difficulties  were  thrashed  out.  One  of  the 
recent  acquisitions  to  the  staff  of  Svoboda  was  shown  to  be  in 
the  pay  of  the  Austrian  Minister  of  War.  The  other  editors 
were  surprised  and  chagrined  over  this  disclosure.  The  only 
excuse  of  the  offending  person  was  that  "I  was  a  soldier  and 
had  to  obey."  It  seemed  to  be  understood  that  Svoboda 
would  change  its  policy.  But  no  such  change  came.  ...  I, 
therefore,  came  to  feel  that  it  was  desirable  to  found  another 
paper,  which  should  present  a  different  point  of  view. 

333 


THE  IIMIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

In  the  summer  of  1916 1  obtained  control  of  a  small  Socialist 
weekly  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  called  Robitnyk  (the  Worker). 
My  editorial  ambition  was  to  bring  all  of  the  more  progressive 
elements  in  Ukrainian  circles  in  America  into  contact  with  the 
work  of  the  Ukrainian  Federation,  of  which  I  was  vice-presi- 
dent. We  did  not  wish  to  work  against  Svoboda,  but  aimed 
to  put  our  paper  on  an  entirely  realistic  basis.  My  aim  was 
tlu-eefold:  (1)  to  secure  war  relief ;  ('•2)  to  provide  education 
for  Ukrainian  immigrants  in  this  country,  both  temporary 
and  permanent  comers,  and  (3)  to  spread  publicity,  interesting 
the  people  in  liberty  for  Ukraine.  .  .  .  Robitnyk  was  affiliated 
with  the  American  Socialist  party,  but  I  desired  not  to  take 
too  narrow  and  partisan  a  point  of  view,  preferring  rather  to 
be  educational  and  explanatory.  To  this  end  I  made  every 
effort  to  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  American  journalists 
and  men  of  affairs,  and  endeavored  to  be  so  conversant  with 
American  politics  and  economics  that  I  could  feel  and  think 
along  American  Imes.  My  friendship  with  native-born  Amer- 
icans enlianced  my  hostility  toward  the  pro-German  attitude, 
because  I  found  that  all  the  men  whom  I  admired  and  whose 
opinion  I  respected  were  becoming  steadily  more  and  more 
anti-German. 

I  had  rather  hard  sledding  at  first.  My  weekly  stipend 
was  about  eighteen  dollars.  I  wrote  about  democracy,  capi- 
talism, the  causes  of  the  war,  and  so  on.  The  paper  grew 
quickly.  On  May  1,  1916,  it  was  a  weekly  with  300  sub- 
scribers. In  February,  1917,  it  was  a  daily  with  3,000  cir- 
culation. The  majority  of  our  readers  were  satisfied,  but  the 
more  radical  Socialists  were  not,  because  they  thought  it 
too  mild  and  not  revolutionary  enough.  There  were  others 
who  thought  I  ought  not  to  remain  vice-president  of  the 
Ukrainian  Federation  while  I  was  engaged  in  newspaper 
activities.  A  few  weeks  before  the  United  States  entered  the 
war  I  began  to  advocate  active  participation  of  America  in 
the  conflict.  Previous  to  that  time  the  paper  had  stood  for 
our  neutrality. 

One  of  my  acts,  which  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  record  as 
a  "mistake,"  was  a  review  I  wTote  of  Spargo's  Socialism  and 

334 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

Atheism.  It  is  true  that  many,  perhaps  most  Ukrainian  im- 
migrants, identified  Sociahsm  with  atheism.  That  caused  a 
breach  between  the  clerical  class  and  the  proletariat.  By 
agreeing  with  Spargo  and  taking  the  stand  that  a  man  could 
believe  in  God,  though  a  Socialist,  I  alienated  many  of  both 
classes.  For  some  reason  this  middle-ground  position  pleased 
neither  party.  A  period  of  ill-feeling  began,  and  I  spent 
some  time  in  New  York  working  in  behalf  of  the  federation 
and  its  anti-German  stand.  I  had  the  assistance  of  Mr. 
Semeshko,  a  professional  journalist  from  Siberia,  who  had 
previously  been  on  the  staff  of  Svoboda.  He  helped  to  edit 
Robitnyk.  A  Ukrainian  Tag  Day  was  planned,  and  Svoboda 
opposed  it,  but  it  was  carried  through  and  netted  a  large  sum 
for  war  relief.  All  this  time  I  wrote  for  Robitnyk,  but  did  not 
remain  constantly  in  Cleveland. 

In  March,  1917,  the  fe<leration  starte<l  in  New  York  a 
weekly  paper  called  Narod  (the  People),  with  Mr.  Nicholas 
Ceglinsky  as  etlitor.  I  became  associate  editor,  and  after  two 
numbers  Ceglinksy  and  I  decided  to  exchange  positions,  he 
to  go  to  Robitnyk  in  Cleveland — where  his  more  ratlical  atti- 
tude would  probably  please  the  readers  of  that  journal — and 
I  to  remain  in  New  York  as  editor  of  Narod,  in  which  capacity 
I  could  more  easily  attend  to  my  duties  in  the  Ukrainian 
Federation.  Unfortunately  this  transfer  was  not  successful. 
Ceglinsky  remained  in  Cleveland  only  a  very  short  time  and 
then  turne<l  Robitnyk  over  to  new  e<litors,  under  whose 
guidance  it  became  steadily  more  radical  in  character. 

On  Narod  I  remained  for  ten  weeks,  but  our  attitude  was 
too  conservative  to  please  the  radicals  and  too  anti-German  to 
please  the  pro-German  faction  among  the  Ukrainians.  I  again 
made  enemies  by  a  long  article  on  conditions  in  America,  in 
which  I  told  the  truth  about  the  labor  situation  in  Cleveland, 
Newark,  and  other  cities  with  which  I  was  well  acquainted. 
This  was  used  by  some  of  my  opponents  to  get  the  police  to 
prevent  me  from  holding  a  federation  meeting  in  Jersey  City. 
. . .  The  more  revolutionary  of  our  subscribers  were  displeased 
with  my  article  because  it  wound  up  with  a  peroration  which 
was  too  pro-American  and  optimistic.  Finally  Narod  was 
discontinued  because  we  were  not  able  to  make  both  ends 

335 


THE  IMISIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

meet,  and  I  devoted  myself  wholly  to  the  activities  of  the 
federation. 

But  I  still  cherished  the  idea  of  starting  a  newspaper.  In 
the  fall  of  1917  I  succeeded  in  interesting  a  good  many  people 
in  the  venture  of  establishing  a  co-operative  printing  shop  in 
New  York.  At  that  time  I  was  lecturing  to  Ukrainian  audi- 
ences on  historical  subjects,  and  I  used  to  spend  my  evenings 
in  the  library,  reading  on  Greece  and  Rome,  and  my  daytimes 
organizing  the  shop.  I  bought  the  machinery,  peddled  shares, 
and  rented  a  place  on  East  Seventh  Street,  New  York,  for 
the  new  concern.  At  first  we  merely  published  books  and 
pamphlets.  I  myself  became  connected  with  the  work  of  the 
Committee  on  Public  Information  in  Washington,  and  the 
newspaper  was  delayed.  But  in  December,  1918,  a  conven- 
tion of  the  federation  was  held  in  Washington,  money  was 
raised,  and  we  embarked  immediately  upon  our  largest  news- 
paper attempt — the  issue  of  Ukrainska  Gazeta. 

The  first  numbers  of  the  Gazeta  came  out  in  January.  The 
editor  was  Mr.  Emil  Revyuk,  and  he  performed  the  functions 
of  managing  editor,  city  editor,  and  reporter.  .  .  .Mr.  Revyuk 
left  the  paper  after  about  six  weeks,  and  I  became  editor. 
Mr.  Ceglinsky  assisted,  more  or  less  officially.  All  of  us  had 
other  work  to  do,  and  at  times  the  paper  languished.  It  also 
suffered  because  of  the  fact  that  many  Ukrainian  papers  in 
this  country  are  published  in  connection  with  fraternal  or- 
ganizations, and  the  money  paid  in  for  subscriptions  goes 
nominally  in  the  form  of  dues  to  these  organizations.  The 
result  is  that  many  individuals  feel  that  they  are  getting  their 
paper  "free"  in  connection  with  the  fraternal  benefits,  and 
look  askance  at  paying  out  actual  money  for  a  newspaper 
subscription.  Eventually  the  Gazeta,  too,  was  discontinued 
because  of  lack  of  funds.  This  came  in  the  fall  of  1919.  Since 
the  close  of  the  Ukrainska  Gazeta  I  have  not  been  engaged  va 
newspaper  work.* 

The  high  birth  rate  and  death  rate  of  the  foreign- 
language  press  is  in  the  ranks  of  the  propagandist 

^  Miroslav  Sichinsky,  Editorial  Experiences  (manuscript). 
336 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

papers.  The  papers  that  survive  have  usually  done 
so  because  they  have  shifted  the  emphasis  from  doc- 
trine to  news  and  have  become  commercial. 


THE   COMMERCIAL   PRESS 

The  distinction  between  the  commercial  press  and  the 
other  types  of  journalism  is  that  the  commercial  press 
is  primarily  a  business.  The  business  of  the  commer- 
cial press  is  to  sell  advertising  space.  The  value  of 
advertising  space  is  determined  by  the  size  and  char- 
acter of  the  circulation.  The  editors  have  found  that 
if  they  print  the  news  they  get  the  circulation,  so  they 
print  the  news. 

In  the  struggle  for  existence  it  is  the  commercial 
press  that  survives. 

ORIGINS 

The  commercial  press  seems  to  have  made  its  first 
positive  appearance  with  the  new  immigration.  In  its 
origin  it  is  connected,  directly  and  indirectly,  with  the 
steamship  agency  and  the  immigrant  bank.  Both  of 
these  institutions  are  pecuhar  to  peoples  of  the  recent 
immigration. 

In  their  efforts  to  find  steerage  passengers  for  their 
returning  ships,  the  steamship  companies  have  spread 
agencies  all  over  the  United  States,  wherever  there  is 
any  considerable  colony  of  immigrant  peoples. 

It  is  part  of  the  routine  of  these  agencies  to  secure 
the  names  and  addresses  of  immigrants  who  may  be 
looking  forward  to  returning  home  or  who  might  want 
to  purchase  tickets  to  send  to  members  of  their  families. 
In  any  case,  it  is  important  to  keep  in  touch  with  pros- 
pective customers.  In  addition  to  that,  the  steamship 
agencies  advertise  extensively  in  the  foreign-language 
papers.      Under    these    circumstances    the    steamship 

337 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

agent  often  found  it  simpler,  in  the  long  run,  to  own 
his  own  paper.  In  that  case  the  subscription  list  gave 
him  the  names  of  the  persons  with  whom  he  wished 
to  communicate,  and  the  paper  served  the  purpose  of 
an  advertising  circular. 

Usually  the  steamship  agent  is  at  the  same  time  a 
banker — that  is  to  say,  he  combines  the  business  of 
selling  steamship  tickets  with  that  of  a  money  changer, 
who  undertakes  to  send  the  earnings  of  the  immigrant 
home.  In  1910  there  were  2,625  so-called  immigrant 
banks  in  the  United  States,  in  which  it  is  estimated 
that  94  per  cent  of  all  the  steamship  agencies  in  the 
United  States  were  doing  a  banking  business. 

Even  the  casual  observer  readily  learns  to  associate  the  term 
"immigrant  bank"  with  the  poster- bedecked  office  of  the 
immigrant  representative  of  steamship  companies.  In  the 
mind  of  the  immigrant  the  two  are  ahnost  inseparable.  To 
him  the  steamship  agent  is  the  sole  connecting  link  with  the 
fatherland.  As  the  representative  of  well-known  lines,  he 
ascribes  to  the  agent  a  standing  and  responsibility  such  as  he 
has  no  cause  to  assign  to  any  American  institution.  Nothing 
is  more  natural  than  that  the  immigrant  should  take  his  sav- 
ings to  the  agent  and  ask  that  the  agent  send  them  home  for 
him.  Having  made  the  start,  it  is  natural  that  he  should 
continue  to  leave  with  the  agent  for  safe-keeping  his  weekly 
or  monthly  surplus,  so  that  he  may  accumulate  a  sufficient 
amount  for  another  remittance  or  for  the  purpose  of  buying 
a  steamship  ticket  to  bring  his  family  to  this  country  or  for  his 
own  return  to  Europe.  It  is  not  long  before  the  agent  has  a 
nucleus  for  a  banking  business,  and  his  assumption  of  banking 
functions  quickly  follows.  The  transition  is  then  complete — 
the  steamship  agent  has  become  an  immigrant  banker.' 

The  steamship  agent  found  a  newspaper  equally 
useful  in  his  banking  business. 

1  Reports  of  the  Immigration  Commission,  vol.  xxxvii,   1911,  pp. 

338 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

The  part  played  by  the  alien  press  in  spreading  the  propa- 
ganda of  the  immigrant  banker  is  one  worthy  of  serious  con- 
sideration. In  several  large  cities  bankers  owti  and  publish 
newspapers  ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  printing  matters  of 
interest  to  immigrant  subscribers,  but  in  reality  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exploiting  the  business  of  the  proprietor.  In  one  or 
two  instances  the  oft-repeated  advertisements  of  the  latter 
are  the  only  ones  appearing  in  the  issue.  Many  other  news- 
papers, apparently  without  direct  financial  connection  with 
immigrant  bankers,  are  filled  with  the  lavish  advertisements 
of  the  proprietors  of  these  concerns.  Liasmuch  as  these  banks 
are  so  numerous  and  such  extensive  advertisers,  it  follows 
that  the  publishers  of  these  papers  are  not  inclined  to  jeopar- 
dize this  source  of  income  by  exposing  in  their  columns  the 
fraudulent  practices  of  such  well-paying  patrons.  For  exam- 
ple, one  banker  advertises  in  11  papers — 4  Hungarian,  2 
Polish,  3  Slovak,  1  Croatian,  and  1  German.  Furthermore, 
it  is  charged  that  many  of  them  do  not  give  due  publicity  to 
failures  among  bankers  of  this  type,  particularly  those  whose 
advertisements  they  have  carried.  What  is  of  more  conse- 
quence is  the  claim  that  the  editors  of  some  papers  actively 
participate  in  silencing  such  affairs  by  offering  plausible  ex- 
cuses for  the  disappearance  or  misconduct  of  the  banker.* 

SUCCESSFUL   TYPES 

The  steamship  ticket  agent's  newspaper,  or  what  be- 
came his  newspaper,  was  first  of  all  merely  an  adver- 
tising sheet  sent  out  to  prospective  customers.  Even- 
tually, the  proprietor  hired  an  intellectual,  who  edited 
the  advertising  sheet,  wrote  news  items  and  editorials, 
and  thus  converted  it  into  a  regularly  estabhshed 
newspaper.  If  the  editor  made  a  success  of  the  paper 
he  might,  in  course  of  time,  become  the  proprietor. 
Frequently  it  was  the  other  way.  Some  impecunious 
intellectual  started  a  paper,  but  was  unable  to  make  it 

^Reports  of  the  Immigration  Commission,  vol.  .xxxvii,  1911,  pp. 
288-289. 

339 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

go,  and  the  steamship  agent  and  banker  took  it  off 
his  hands. 


In  1910  an  educated  Rumanian,  rather  broken  in  health, 
came  to  the  United  States.  On  the  advice  of  the  immigration 
official,  a  Rumanian  Jew,  he  collected  two  and  three  dollars 
from  each  of  his  friends,  and  set  up  a  paper  in  New  York 
City.  He  was  always  in  debt,  however,  as  he  was  not  a  good 
business  manager,  but  he  wrote  well,  especially  when  he  was 
drunk.  Mr.  George  Cumpanas,  the  owner  of  a  steamship 
agency,  came  to  his  assistance  as  his  financial  partner  and 
finally  ousted  him  from  the  paper. 

The  publishing  of  the  weekly,  the  Desteaptate  Romane,  is 
only  an  incidental  factor  in  the  business  activities  of  INIr. 
Cumpanas.  He  has  a  restaurant,  lodging  house,  and  board- 
ing house  for  Rumanians  at  146  Seventh  Avenue,  New  York 
City.  When  a  Rumanian  wishes  to  return  to  Rumania  he 
can  find  explicit  information  in  the  editorials  of  the  Desteap- 
tate Romane  about  wiring  Mr.  Cumpanas,  whose  runner  meets 
him  at  the  train  and  conducts  him  to  Mr.  Cumpanas'  board- 
ing house. 

Mr.  Cumpanas  does  not  charge  anything  for  buying  steam- 
ship tickets  for  the  Rumanians,  and  he  only  charges  them 
what  the  steamship  companies  would  charge  them.  How- 
ever, in  exchanging  American  money  into  Rumanian  money 
for  the  purpose  of  buying  the  steamship  ticket  he  makes  a 
profit  of  $50  on  $100,  and  by  exchanging  American  money 
into  Rumanian  and  Italian  money  he  makes  a  profit  of  $40 
on  $100. 

Mr.  Cumpanas  cannot  write  very  much  himself.  When  he 
writes  it  is  in  the  dialect  of  the  Banat.  The  only  thing  that 
interests  him  in  his  paper  are  its  advertisements  of  his  busi- 
nesses, his  bank,  his  steamship  agency,  and  its  editorials. 
The  content  of  the  editorials  which  deal  with  the  way  Ru- 
manians are  swindled  in  New  York  by  all  sorts  of  people,  he 
dictates  to  his  editor.  The  editor  at  present  is  a  young  elec- 
trical engineer  who  has  just  landed  in  New  York  City.  As 
he  is  from  the  kingdom  of  Rumania,  Cumpanas  has  had  to 
teach  him  to  use  certain  words  in  the  Transylvania  dialect, 

340 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

to  which  the  Transylvania  peasants  in  the  United  States  are 
accustomed. 

There  is  a  first  page  of  news  which  deals  with  Rumania. 
The  engineer-editor  said  he  supposed  this  w'as  for  the  peo- 
ple "who  were  more  sensible"  and  cared  for  that  kind  of 
news.  The  fiction  of  the  paper,  on  the  other  hand,  is  very 
popixlar,  and  the  paper  receives  many  letters,  saying  that  the 
reader  subscribes  to  the  Desteaptate  Eomane  only  because  of 
the  fiction.  This  fiction  is  WTitten  in  the  Transylvania  dia- 
lect and  deals  with  historical  subjects.  A  good  deal  of  verse 
is  contributed  by  the  readers.^ 

The  most  striking  example  of  a  newspaper  that  was 
started  as  an  adjunct  to  a  steamship  agency  and  an 
immigrant  bank  is  the  Narodni  List  (National  Gazette), 
the  oldest,  most  popular,  and  widely  read  of  the  south 
Slavic  daily  papers  in  this  country.  The  Narodni  List 
was  started  in  1898  as  a  weekly  paper,  and  in  1902  it 
became  the  first  Croatian  daily.  At  that  time  its 
editor,  Frank  Zotti,  was  doing  a  thriving  business  as  a 
steamship  agent  and  banker.  He  is  reported  to  have 
owned  and  controlled  at  different  times  as  many  as 
eight  different  papers.  One  of  these  was  the  Rail,  Sail, 
and  American  Merchant  Marine,  with  which  from  1901 
to  1908  he  fought  the  Hamburg- American  Line.  Among 
his  other  papers  at  this  time  was  the  Slovenski  Xarod, 
a  Slovenian  semi  weekly ;  the  Gazzetta  del  Banchiere,  an 
Italian  paper,  and  the  Robotnik. 

The  Slovenski  Narod  was  started  in  opposition  to  the 
Glas  Naroda,  published  by  Frank  L.  Dakser,  a  rival 
banker  in  New  York.  All  these  publications  w-ere 
carried  on  in  the  interest  of  Zotti's  bank,  and  Zotti 
was  knowm  to  the  immigrants  as  "the  King  of  the 
Croatians."  In  1908  his  bank  failed,  but  Zotti  managed 
to  continue  the  publication  of  the  Narodni  List,  and 
in  spite  of  the  scandal  connected  with  the  failure  of  the 

'  Notes  of  the  translator. 

341 


TIIE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

bank  and  the  losses  it  entailed  to  the  8,000  depositors, 
the  paper  has  been  successful. 

The  success  of  Zotti's  paper  is  not  due  to  its  editorial 
policy,  which  is  violent  and  personal,  but  to  the  fact 
that  it  is  newsy,  sensational,  and  written  in  language 
and  concerning  matters  that  a  Croatian  peasant  can 
understand.  The  fact  that  its  editor  attacks  violently 
and  consistently  all  the  ambitious  intellectuals  among 
the  Croatians  probably  does  not  greatly  distress  the 
Dalmatian  and  Bosnian  shepherds  who  constitute  the 
bulk  of  its  readers. 

The  paper  is  run  on  a  purely  business  basis.  The  editorial 
department  uses  a  style  of  its  own  to  attract  the  uneducated 
mass  of  the  people,  the  style  being  vulgar  and  personal. 
Aside  from  this  method  of  getting  circulation,  it  has  a  large 
number  of  traveling  salesmen  who  solicit  subscriptions 
directly.  As  to  advertising,  its  rates  are  of  the  highest  and  it 
carries  quite  a  substantial  amount  of  advertising  space. 

The  significance  of  the  paper  lies  in  its  extreme  chauvinis- 
tic Croatian  nationalism  and  anti-Serbianism,  which  has 
always  been  the  camouflage  of  the  pro-Austrian  papers  and 
of  individuals  who  did  not  have  the  courage  to  come  out 
openly  in  favor  of  Austria. 

The  circulation  of  the  paper  is  national.  Its  readers  live 
all  over  the  Union.  They  are  mostly  common  laborers,  who 
come  from  the  remote  mountainous  parts  of  Bosnia,  Croatia, 
and  Dalmatia.  They  have  no  education  to  speak  of;  most 
of  them  have  not  even  been  in  the  normal  school.^ 

The  largest  and  most  successful  Itahan  daily  in  the 
United  States,  Progresso  Italo- Americano,  is  distinctly 
a  commercial  paper.  It  was  established  in  1879  by 
Carlo  Barsotti,  not  as  a  business  enterprise,  but  because 
the  editor  of  the  only  Italian  paper  then  existing  in 
New  York  did  not,   in  Mr.   Barsotti's  opinion,  pay 

^  Notes  of  the  translator  of  the  Narodni  List. 
S42 


THE  SURVWAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

enough  attention  to  his — Barsotti's — communications. 
Barsotti,  however,  was  not  an  intellectual,  but  a  busi- 
ness man,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  made  the  in- 
dependent discovery  that  a  newspaper  could  be  made 
to  pay.  Presently  Barsotti  started  a  bank.  The  bank 
failed,  but  the  newspaper  continued,  and  now  has  a 
circulation  of  127,000,  which  is  the  largest  circulation 
of  any  foreign-language  daily  in  the  United  States 
with  the  exception  of  the  Jewish  Forward. 

In  1880  only  one  Italian  newspaper  was  published  in  New 
York — Eco  iVItalia — when  an  enterprising  and  bold  man, 
called  Carlo  Barsotti,  decided  to  found  a  daily  Italian  paper. 
There  were,  at  this  time,  about  25,000  Italians  in  New  York. 
Barsotti,  who  was  a  Tuscan,  was  an  interesting  typ>e  of  self- 
made  man.  Coming  to  America  without  money  he  earned 
his  living  by  directing  squads  of  Italians  on  the  railroad. 
Finally,  after  changing  his  position  many  times,  he  and  an- 
other Italian  opened  three  or  four  lodging  houses.  These 
were  divided  each  into  a  hundred  rooms,  which  were  rented 
at  twenty-five  cents  a  night.  Barsotti  became  the  sole 
proprietor. 

Pietro  Baldo,  an  Italian,  who  had  murdered  his  wife,  was 
condemned  to  death  by  a  New  York  tribunal.  A  committee 
was  formed  with  tlie  purpose  of  having  his  sentence  commuted. 
Barsotti's  communications  did  not  receive  profMjr  attention 
from  the  director  of  Eco  d'ltalia,  and  so  Barsotti,  irritated 
and  surprised  that  the  only  Italian  newspaper  in  America 
was  so  little  concerned  with  tlie  fate  of  a  compatriot,  decided 
to  start  a  newspaper  himself. 

The  newspaper  was  called  Progresso  Italo- Americano y  and 
was  begun  in  a  small  way.  In  New  York  there  were  not  only 
no  professional  newspaper  men,  but  it  was  even  diflScult  to 
discover  an  Italian  who  could  write  his  own  language  cor- 
rectly. Several  young  men  were  engaged,  but  none  of  them 
had  had  any  experience.  Rossi  was  recommended  to  Barsotti 
by  his  employer.  When  he  said  he  knew  nothing  about 
politics  he  was  told  tliat  that  was  all  the  better.  The  paper 
had  only  four  pages  and  two  were  to  be  devoted  to  recounting 

343 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

important  events  happening  mostly  in  Italy,  the  other  two 
to  advertisements.    Rossi  was  paid  fifteen  dollars  a  week. 

The  offices  of  the  newspaper  were  in  Ann  Street,  on  the  top 
floor  of  an  old  building  back  of  the  New  York  Herald.  There 
was  one  dark  room,  three  rickety  chairs,  two  tables,  a  broken 
stove,  and  a  couch  without  sheets  in  a  corner.  "One  was  the 
editorial  table;  the  other  for  the  administration."  Signer 
Pavia,  who  lived  in  the  office,  was  business  manager,  secre- 
tary, administrator,  and  general  factotum.  He  was  an  ex- 
cavalry  officer,  who  had  been  unfortunate,  and  was  reduced 
to  his  present  position.  Neither  he  nor  Rossi  could  translate 
English.  They  finally  found  some  old  papers  published  in 
Bologna  and  rehashed  the  news,  changing  the  dates  to  suit 
themselves.  On  December  6,  1880,  Rossi  became  editor  of 
the  paper.  He  had  practically  no  one  to  help  him.  Barsotti, 
Pavia,  and  Polidori  took  charge  of  the  administration  and 
procured  advertisements. 

Soon  Polidori  traveled  through  the  states  procuring  sub- 
scriptions; then  a  larger  office  was  taken  on  Chambers 
Street.  Among  the  tjT)esetters  was  one  Frenchman,  one 
Spaniard,  one  Swiss,  one  Rumanian,  one  Canadian,  and  one 
American,  so  that  English,  French,  and  Italian  had  to  be 
spoken.  Rossi  was  given  an  assistant  called  Luigi  Omedei, 
who  had  served  as  interpreter  at  Castle  Garden.  "His  one 
fault  was  that  he  drank  too  much  beer." 

Eco  (Tltalia  became  also  a  daily  paper.  Signer  Barsotti 
founded  a  bank  at  this  time — "an  official  bank  for  the  con- 
venience of  Italians  who  wanted  to  send  money  to  Italy,  or 
who  needed  steamer  tickets,"  ^ 

Among  the  newspapers  that  fall  in  the  class  with  the 
commercial  papers,  in  so  far  as  they  are  business  enter- 
prises published  mainly  as  advertising  mediums,  is  the 
oldest  existing  paper  in  Arabic,  the  Al-Hoda  (Guidance). 

The  Al-Hoda,  a  paper  in  the  Arabic  language,  was  estab- 
lished in  New  York  in  1898,  At  that  time  the  Syrian  emi- 
grants in  Washington  Street  were  trading  on  their  association 

V*  Notes  of  the  translator. 

344 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

with  the  Holy  Land  by  selling  rosaries  and  saints'  pictures. 
They  were  people  from  Mt.  Lebanon,  Roman  Catholics  or 
Maronites,  whose  village  customs  have  not  been  subjected 
to  the  disintegration  of  a  city. 

The  Al-IIoda,  bemg  the  oldest  of  the  Arabic  papers,  became 
the  spokesman  of  this  group  of  Syrians  and  is  still  the  largest 
paper  with  a  Maronite  public.  It  is  said  that  in  1905  the 
editor,  Nahoum  Mokarzel,  the  best  Syrian  journalist  in  the 
United  States,  decided  to  build  up  his  circulation,  and  framed 
up  a  bitter  controversy  over  religion  with  the  publisher  of  the 
Greek  orthodox  paper.  Both  papers  expanded  as  a  result, 
just  as  the  Foruard  and  the  other  Yiddish  papers  did  at  the 
same  period  over  the  controversy  about  Jakob  Gordin's 
plays.  Some  Greeks  decided  to  kill  Mokarzel  for  maligning 
the  Greek  orthodox  church,  but  they  never  got  to  his  oflBce. 
They  killed  the  first  Maronite  they  chanced  upon  instead. 
The  trick  of  using  religious  factionalism  could  not  have  been 
turned  after  1905,  when  the  urban  ^uiigration  from  Aleppo* 
Damascus,  and  Palestine  began  to  pour  in. 

The  Al-Hoda  has  perfect  relevancy  to  the  business  Interests 
of  the  Syrians.  One-fourth  of  the  paper  consists  of  the  "ads" 
of  wholesale  importers  and  exporters,  retailers  and  clothing 
merchants.  There  are  about  three  columns  of  music  "ads," 
some  naively  flagrant  patent  medicine  "ads,"  the  usual 
"ads"  of  bank,  steamship  agencies,  restaurants,  groceries, 
boarding  houses,  and  storage  firms.  The  groceries  make  a 
specialty  of  Persian  tobacco,  which  the  men  in  the  BrooklvTi 
coffeehouses  smoke. 

The  advertising  claims  reveal  the  fact  that  the  Al-Hoda  has 
a  considerable  circulation  outside  of  the  United  States. 
Connections  are  sought  with  lost  relatives,  last  heard  of  in 
Havana,  Cuba,  Mexico,  Brazil,  and  elsewhere.  There  are 
quite  a  number  of  Mexican  clothing  and  department  store 
"ads,"  one  of  which  announces  the  arrival  of  consignments  of 
new  silks  and  trinkets  from  Java.  A  relief  commission  begs 
the  Syrians  in  the  United  States  to  vie  with  the  Syrians  in 
Argentine  in  sending  money  to  Madeen. 

Nahoum  Mokarzel,  the  editor,  supplies  the  reader  with  such 
news  as  will  be  interesting  to  the  Maronites  about  the  situa- 

345 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

tion  in  the  home  country,  which  means  not  Syria,  but  Mt. 
Lebanon.  Mt.  Lebanon  is  inhabited  by  descendants  of  the 
Crusaders  and  permeated  by  the  influence  of  French  schools 
and  Jesuitic  colleges.  Up  to  the  present  war  it  was  uncon- 
quered  mountain  territory.  Now  the  Turks  have  swept  half 
the  population  away.  There  is  a  Mt.  Lebanon  League  of 
Liberation,  with  branches  all  over  the  world,  which  seeks 
the  independence  of  SjTia  under  French  protection.  Natu- 
rally^ the  paper  favors  French  control  instead  of  American, 
English,  or  Persian  control. 

The  Al-IIoda  is  also  pro-Zionist.  The  Mt.  Lebanites  are 
the  only  SjTian  group  with  which  the  Zionists  have  taken 
the  trouble  to  come  to  terms.  As  a  result,  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics support  the  Jews  and  the  Jews  the  Roman  Catholics. 

One  of  the  wTiters  on  Mr.  Mokarzel's  staff  is  a  woman,  the 
only  Syrian  woman  journalist  in  the  United  States.  When 
she  was  a  girl  of  sixteen  she  first  wrote  to  the  paper  criticizing 
tlie  conduct  of  one  of  the  priests.  As  soon  as  she  had  mailed 
the  letter  to  the  Al-Hoda  office,  she  was  very  much  ashamed 
of  what  she  had  done,  and  tried  to  get  the  post  office  to  re- 
turn it.  JNIr.  Mokarzel,  however,  was  pleased  with  her  ability 
to  write,  and  encouraged  her.  She  proved  to  be  very  useful 
to  him,  for  not  only  has  she  translated  and  written  many 
historic  romances,  which  are  eagerly  read  by  the  women 
readers,  but  she  has  answered  hundreds  of  letters  from 
Syrian  women  and  girls  about  family  and  love  affairs.^ 

OPPORTUNISTIC   POLICY 

As  soon  as  the  editor  or  publisher  conceives  the  idea 
that  his  pubHcation  is  mainly  a  public  forum  for  ad- 
vertisers, and  that  the  news  columns  exist  mainly  to 
make  the  paper  read,  he  is  likely  to  take  a  rather  de- 
tached view  toward  the  matter  that  appears  in  the 
news  columns  and  on  the  editorial  page,  so  long  as  it 
seems  to  be  what  the  subscribers  of  the  paper  want  to 
read.     Under  such  circumstances  the  editorial  policy 

'  Notes  of  the  translator. 

346 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

tends  to  become  opportunistic  rather  than  doctrinaire, 
and  the  paper  seeks  to  keep  before  the  wind  of  popular 
favor  rather  than  buck  against  it.  During  the  late 
war,  when  the  wind  shifted  a  good  deal,  it  was  the  com- 
mercial papers  that  were  willing  and  able  to  make  the 
changes  in  direction  that  discretion  and  a  dual  loyalty, 
to  America  and  the  home  country,  seemed  to  require. 
The  propaganda  papers,  particularly  the  Socialist 
papers  that  were  controlled  by  fixed  political  dogmas, 
were  not  able  to  make  the  shift  so  easily,  and  many  of 
them  came  under  the  ban  of  the  censorship.  The 
course  of  the  Hungarian  Szabadsag  of  Cleveland  is  typi- 
cal of  a  commercial  paper. 

The  Szabadsag  was  founded  as  a  weekly  in  1890  by  E.  T. 
Kohanyi,  a  young  Hungarian  journalist.  He  hailed  from  a 
family  belonging  to  the  small,  untitled,  and  in  latter  years 
largely  landless  Magyar  "gentry,"  and  as  far  as  possible 
always  recruited  his  more  intimate  associates  from  among 
members  of  the  same  class.  Li  Hungary  this  class  forms  the 
retinue  of  aristocracy  and  bureaucracy,  and  is  the  bulwark 
of  conservative  and  chauvinistic  Jimker  rule.  It  is  bitterly 
opposed  by  the  radical  intellectuals,  confined  mostly  to  the 
Budapest  middle  class,  and  by  the  non-Magyar  nationalities. 

In  the  first  years  the  Szabadsag  had  to  fight  a  very  severe 
struggle  for  existence.  Kohanyi  was  almost  pemiiless  him- 
self, and  raised  a  few  thousand  dollars  by  issuing  five-dollar 
shares.  Two  manufacturers  of  Hungarian  origin,  Mr.  Theo- 
dor  Kundtz  and  one  Mr.  Black,  bought  some  of  the  stock; 
the  rest  was  subscribed  in  small  lots  by  Hungarian  immigrants. 

A  year  after  the  start  Kohanyi  mo\etl  with  the  paper,  un- 
encumbered by  a  plant,  to  New  York  City,  but  returned  soon. 
A  little  later  Kohanyi  raised  some  money  and  repaid  the  entire 
stock.  From  that  time  on,  until  his  death,  Kohanyi  always 
conducted  the  paper  as  an  independent  enterprise  owned  by 
himself.  He  is  said  to  have  combined  ruthless  and  violent 
fighting  methods  with  scrupulous  honesty  in  regard  to  finan- 
cial obligations,  especially  when  dealing  with  Americans. 
23  347 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

After  many  vicissitudes  the  increase  of  Cleveland's  Hun- 
garian population  gradually  improved  the  standing  of  the 
paper.  Several  smaller  competitors  were  absorbed,  and  in 
1906  the  Szabadsag  was  transformed  into  a  daily.  Two  years 
later  Kohanyi  bought  out  his  strongest  rival,  the  Magyar 
Napilap  (Hungarian  Journal),  acquiring  its  4,000  subscribers. 
It  is  held  in  local  Hungarian  circles  that  this  stroke  had 
"made"  Kohanyi.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  within  a  few  years 
the  Szabadsag  was  considered,  measured  with  Hungarian- 
American  standards,  a  prosperous  business  enterprise,  and 
has  been  one  ever  since. 

As  a  typical  representative  of  his  race,  and  even  more  of 
his  class,  Kohanj'i,  of  course,  never  became  an  American. 
There  is  ground  to  believe  that  he  never  even  attempted  to 
penetrate  the  real  meaning  of  American  ideas  and  ideals. 
Certainly  he  never  inspired  his  associates,  mostly  new  arrivals 
in  this  country,  with  the  sort  of  Americanism  that  has  made, 
to  my  knowledge,  Scandinavian  editors,  for  instance,  so 
valuable  from  the  standpoint  of  a  more  or  less  imconscious 
process  of  Americanization.  I  believe  that  with  Kohanyi  it 
was  not  a  case  of  deliberate  antagonism  to  American  ideas 
at  all,  even  less  that  of  palpable  old-country  influence,  but 
merely  a  matter  of  intellectual  inelasticity  and  ingrained 
class  bias.  He  had  a  certain  romantic  quality  which  was 
acclimatized  as  a  sort  of  external,  sentimental  Americanism. 
This  is  a  great  deal  more  than  can  be  said  of  his  associates. 
Somebody  has  said  of  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Szabadsag  that 
it  is  a  rock  of  refuge  for  shipwTccked  Hungarian  gentlemen 
from  the  old  coimtry,  and  to  an  extent  this  mot  describes 
truly  the  brand  of  men  from  which  Kohanyi  usually  chose 
his  collaborators.  On  the  whole,  it  can  be  said  that  the 
Szabadsag,  up  to  America's  entrance  into  the  World  War, 
was  a  Hungarian  newspaper  which  happened  to  be  published 
in  the  United  States.  Its  overwhelming  concern  was  for  mat- 
ters relating  to  the  old  country.  In  Hungarian  politics  it 
represented  the  reactionary,  ultra-chauvinistic,  anti-Austrian, 
and  anti-Slav  tendencies.  Its  outlook  and  general  tone  was  at 
least  thirty  years  behind  the  liberal  dailies  of  Budapest. 
Although  disguised  behind  a  quasi-popular  phraseology,  it 

348 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

transplanted  and  fought  the  battles  of  the  class  to  which 
Kohanyi  belonged. 

It  must  be  emphasized,  however,  that  for  the  greater  part 
of  its  career  the  Szahadsag  was  not  the  organ  of  a  conscious, 
systematic  foreign  propaganda.  It  was  certainly  not  the  in- 
strument of  the  Hungarian  government.  With  Kohanyi  his 
own  business  interest  came  foremost,  Hungarian-American 
interests  second,  and  the  interests  of  the  old  country  next. 
His  business  interest  prompted  him  to  f(jllow  the  line  of  the 
least  resistance  by  capitalizing  tlie  emotional  luggage  of  the 
average  Hungarian  peasant  immigrant.  This  was  so  much 
the  easier  for  him,  as  by  playing  on  the  sentimental  chau- 
vinism of  the  lower-class  Magyar  he  was  merely  continuing 
the  old  political  game  of  his  class  in  the  home  country. 

But  at  the  same  time  his  business  interest  made  him  realize 
the  bonds  that  linke<J  him  to  the  new  fatherland.  His  pros- 
perity depended  on  the  increase  of  Hungarian  immigration. 
Under  the  Hungarian  law,  emigration  propaganda  through 
the  press  is  a  misdemeanor,  so  that  by  conductmg  such  propa- 
ganda the  Szabadnag  would  have  forfeited  its  circulation  in 
the  old  country.  Instead,  Kohanji  sought  to  induce  his 
readers  to  invite  their  relatives,  through  private  letters,  "over 
here."  His  endeavors  were  looked  upon  with  disfavor  by  the 
Hungarian  government. 

I  have  dealt  at  such  length  with  the  personal  characteristics 
of  Kohanyi  l>ecause  I  believe  that  in  judging  the  foreign- 
language  press  Americans  are  too  apt  to  leave  the  personal 
factor  out  of  consideration.  It  is  true  that  in  the  case  of  some 
of  the  foreign-born  groups  the  vernacular  press  had  been, 
perhaps,  the  most  powerful  barrier  in  the  way  of  genuine 
assimilation.  But  to  attribute  this  to  a  preconceived  plot  of 
malevolent  master  minds,  to  an  organized  campaign  of  sinis- 
ter influences,  is  a  huge  mistake.  The  fact  is  that  foreign- 
born  newspaper  men  in  America,  just  like  their  native  col- 
leagues, are  merely  human.  They  have  their  intellectual  and 
moral  limitations,  and  they  have  to  make  a  living  out  of  them. 
In  the  case  of  the  Hungarian-American  press,  they  are  largely 
much  below  the  old-country  standard  of  their  profession. 
The  majority  of  Hungarian-American  journalists  (exceptions 

349 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

are  none  too  many)  represent  that  dangerous  t^pe — danger- 
ous irrespective  of  nationality — the  unsuccessful  "gentle- 
men" of  half-baked  culture,  accustomed  to  good  living  and 
unaccustomed  to  work,  the  disappointment  of  family  hopes. 
Veterinary  surgeons  have  to  undergo  rigid  examinations 
before  they  are  admitted  to  practice,  but  anybody  may  be- 
come a  newspaper  writer,  the  molder  of  public  opinion,  and 
the  builder  of  popular  culture.  Low  professional  standards 
are  not  limited  to  the  Hungarian-American  press,  and  com- 
mercialism puts  a  premium  on  the  lack  of  scruples. 

The  other  outstanding  fact,  which  seems  to  escape  the 
attention  of  many  critics  of  the  foreign-language  press,  is 
that  most  of  the  foreign-language  newspapers  arc  conducted 
as  private  commercial  enterprises,  with  a  sole  view  to  profit. 
Their  key  to  prosperity  is  circulation.  New  publishers  of 
these  foreign-language  newspapers  have  made  the  discovery 
that  circulation  is  gained,  not  by  idealistic  attempts  at  ele- 
vating the  intellectual  and  moral  standards  of  their  public, 
not  by  straining  the  readers'  brains  with  unfamiliar  "high- 
brow stuff,"  but  by  playing  on  their  sentiments  and  preju- 
dices and  idiosjTicrasies.  In  "giving  their  public  what  it 
wants" — in  other  words,  in  following  the  above-mentioned 
line  of  the  least  resistance,  publishers  of  foreign-language 
papers  have  imitated,  on  an  infinitely  less  scale,  the  example 
set  by  the  most  successful  American  newspaper  organizations. 
Just  as  the  California  public  was  supposed  to  be  interested 
primarily  in  Chinaman-baiting,  and  got  it,  the  average  Magyar 
immigrant  was  interested  in  Slovak-baitmg,  and  got  it  too. 

This  leads  up  to  examination  of  the  part  the  foreign-lan- 
guage— more  particularly  the  Hungarian — press  in  this  coun- 
try has  played  in  the  first  three  years  of  the  World  War.  The 
outbreak  of  the  war  produced  on  Hungarian  newspaper  men 
here  largely  the  same  effect  as  on  newspaper  men  in  the  old 
country.  It  loosened  all  the  inherited  class  and  race  preju- 
dices and  hatreds,  all  the  primordial  instincts  and  passions 
whose  sum  total  is  called  war  enthusiasm.  But  whereas  in 
Hungary  the  grim  realities  and  severe  tasks  of  warfare,  above 
all,  the  personal  risk  they  were  facing,  acted  as  a  check  on  the 
temper  of  newspaper  men,  their  colleagues  in  this  country 

350 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

faced  nothing  but  the  prospect  of  a  tremendous  increase  of 
circulation  and  prestige.  They  found  the  louder  they  yelled 
the  farther  they  were  heard.  The  result  was,  as  far  as  the 
majority  of  Hungarian-American  newspapers  is  concerned, 
an  orgy  of  hatred,  blood  thirst,  and  patriotic  magalomania 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  any  country  and  any  press. 
Nothing  like  it  can  be  found  in  the  contemporary  newspaper 
press  of  Hungary,  the  majority  of  which  has  up  to  date  pre- 
served a  rare  balance  of  tone,  if  not  opinion. 

Commercialism,  and  not  "foreign  plotting,"  is  responsible 
for  tlie  pro-German  excesses  of  the  Magyar-American  press, 
commercialism  and  the  low  intellectual  and  moral  standards 
of  editorial  personnel. 

There  was  one  isolated  case  where  a  Hungarian  newspaper 
man  was  found  involved  in  a  conspiracy  against  the  laws  of 
the  United  States — I  am  referring  to  the  celebrated  case  of 
William  Warne,  alias  Dr.  Martin  Dienes,  who,  as  editor  of 
the  Szabadsag,  in  1915  made  an  attempt,  in  conjunction  with 
Doctor  Dumba,  then  Austro-Hungarian  ambassador,  to  dis- 
organize American  munition  industries.  As  soon  as  his 
activities  were  disclosed  by  the  U.  S.  S>ecret  Service,  he 
was  dismissed  by  Mrs.  Kohanyi,  the  young  widow  of  the 
Szahadsag's  founder,  who,  on  the  death  of  her  husband  in 
1913,  took  more  or  less  nominally  charge  of  the  paper's 
affairs  as  head  of  a  newly  formed  corporation.  There  is 
reason  to  believe  that  Mrs.  Kohanyi  did  not  know  about  the 
intrigue  conducted  by  Warne. 

Although  rabitUy  pro-German  and  jingoistic  to  the  core, 
the  Szabadsag  always  exercised  care  not  to  collide  with  the 
laws  of  the  United  States.  Readers  were  advised,  editorially, 
to  "suppress  their  sentiments  in  hostile  surroundings."  At 
the  same  time,  however,  headlines  and  doctored  dispatches 
and  cartoons  did  their  worst  to  incite  Magyar  chauvinism 
to  the  highest  pitch. 

The  attitude  of  the  Szabadsag  in  the  first  three  years  of 
the  war  can  be  fairly  characterized  by  saying  that  the  paper 
would  have  ranked  as  an  extremely  reactionary  and  jingoistic 
organ  even  in  Hungary.  In  fact,  the  paper  was  more  pro- 
German  than  pro-Hungarian,   owing  to   the  circumstance 

351 


THE  IMI^IIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

that  since  the  fall  of  1916  the  paper's  policies  were  directed 
by  Mr.  Stephen  Puky,  an  able  and  well-educated  man  of 
Junker  family  connections,  ardent  admirer  of  German  mili- 
tarism, and  partisan  of  Count  Tisza,  the  leader  of  Magyar 
Junkerdom.  It  is  only  fair  to  add  that  Mr.  Puky,  although 
by  no  means  a  lover  of  things  American,  has  always  strictly 
adhered  to  the  letter  of  American  law  both  before  and  after 
America's  entrance  into  the  war — as  far,  at  least,  as  I  was 
able  to  judge  his  actions. 

In  April,  1917,  Mrs.  Kohanyi  married  a  Dr.  Andrew 
Cserna,  for  a  period  Chicago  representative  of  the  paper, 
formerly  a  lawyer  and  director  of  a  small  bank  in  Hungary. 
With  this  marriage  Doctor  Cserna  assumed  control  of  the 
paper  as  editor-in-chief  and  general  manager.  As  soon  as 
he  assumed  charge  of  the  paper,  which  coincided  with  Amer- 
ica's entrance  into  the  war,  the  Szabadsag's  editorial  policies 
were  changed  overnight.  From  a  pro-German  jingo  organ 
it  became  a  pro-Ally  jingo  organ.  That  this  sudden  turn  at 
an  angle  of  180  degrees  was  not  calculated  to  increase  the 
readers'  respect  for  and  confidence  in  the  paper  can  be 
easily  imagined.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  Szahadsag  has  since  made  itself  useful  in  disseminat- 
ing government  bulletins,  etc.,  on  selective  service.  Liberty 
Loan,  and  the  like,  among  thousands  of  people  very  difficult 
to  reach  otherwise. 

Extremely  enlightening  as  to  the  mental  attitude  of  the 
paper's  editors  is  the  fact  that  on  July  4th  the  paper  pub- 
lished, across  its  front  page,  an  editorial  adorned  with  a  four- 
column  cut  of  the  American  flag.  The  editorial  consisted  in 
carefully  selected  extracts  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
— the  passages,  namely,  which  contain  the  indictment  of  the 
king  of  England,  and  nothing  else.  This  method  of  "putting 
it  over"  needs  no  comment,' 

APPROACH  TO  AMERICAN  TYPE 

On  the  whole,  the  foreign-language  press  tends  every- 
where to  conform  to  the  prevailing  American  tj^pe  of 

^  Eugene  S,  Bagger,  unpublished  notes  on  the  Hungarian  press. 
352 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

journal — i.e.,  the  commercial  newspaper.  It  does  not 
always  do  this  voluntarily,  but  it  learns  sooner  or  later 
that  the  common  man  would  rather  read  news,  or  what 
passes  for  news,  than  the  opinions  of  editors.  Thus 
every  foreign-language  paper  tends,  in  the  long  run,  to 
fit  the  description  which  Herman  Ridder  gave  of  the 
New  York  Staats-Zeitung  when  he  referred  to  it  as  "  an 
American  newspaper  published  in  German."  This  de- 
scription applies  to  most  of  the  older  foreign-language 
daily  papers,  but  particularly  to  the  German  press. 

As  a  tjTse  of  the  foreign-language  paper  modeled  on  the 
American  newspaper,  the  Mihvaukee  Uerold  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  German  papers. 

The  owners  of  tlie  Uerold  are  connected  with  the  tanning 
and  brewery  interests  of  Milwaukee  and  as  such  are  an 
integral  part  of  Milwaukee's  commercial  and  political  life. 
The  Uerold  is  not  an  isolated  newspaper;  it  is  the  morning 
paper  of  the  Germania  Corporation,  the  largest  German 
newspaper  corporation  in  the  United  States. 

Instead  of  pointing  out  what  is  .\merican  about  the  paper, 
it  is  really  necessary  to  point  out  what  is  German.  The 
sensational  content  of  the  general  news,  the  diversity  of  the 
"ads,"  the  features,  such  as  market  reports,  women's  pat- 
terns, and  sporting  columns,  characteristic  of  American 
papers,  and  the  amount  of  sensational  news  dealing  with  the 
breakdown  of  family  relations,  all  mark  the  paper  as  American. 

The  paper  is,  of  course,  entirely  commercial,  and  as  such 
caters  both  to  the  German  born  who  have  assimilated  Amer- 
ican ways,  and  those  who  have  not.  For  the  latter  the  paper 
retains  its  serial  story  and  a  page  of  organization  notices 
with  the  brief  headlines  and  neatly  topical  arrangement 
characteristic  of  a  European  newspaper.  This  page,  which 
might  be  supposed  to  reflect  the  life  of  the  German  colony  of 
Milwaukee,  is  amusingly  penetrated  with  American  customs 
and  content.  The  St.  Aloysius  Sodality  of  St.  Michael's 
Catholic  Church  presents  on  Sunday  a  play  called  "A  Man 
from  Denver."  The  Humboldt  Verein  No.  6,  G.  U.  G. 
Germania,  at  a  special  session  to  be  addressed  by  the  Head- 

353 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

quarters  Agitation  Committee,  promises  to  have  the  G.  U.  G. 
Germania  Booster  Club  there  to  make  things  lively.  A 
Lutheran  church,  whose  members  are  scattering,  presents  its 
pastor  with  an  auto,  so  that  the  German  church  will  not  be 
forced  to  disintegrate. 

The  attitude  of  the  Ilerold  toward  the  German  situation 
was  as  finely  baffling  as  in  most  German  commercial  papers. 
It  was  conspicuously  pro-American  during  the  war — its  own- 
ers were  sufficiently  acclimated  to  understand  how  to  put 
themselves  into  suave  relations  with  the  government.  There 
was  no  open  bitterness  and  the  editorials  were  very  guarded. 
AVhen  one  of  the  Allied  nations  said  something  mean  about 
another  Allied  nation,  it  found  a  place  in  the  news  columns, 
and  when  the  New  York  World  or  the  New  Republic  or  the 
Nation  expressed  its  disappointment  with  Wilson  or  the 
peace  treaty,  these  papers  were  quoted  in  the  editorial  col- 
umns, so  that  the  Ilerold  itself  was  not  implicated.  But 
although  there  was  no  direct  and  frank  expression  of  feeling 
in  regard  to  the  German  situation,  there  was  apparently  an 
undercurrent  of  understanding  and  implication  between 
editors  and  readers  built  up  during  the  muffled  caution  of 
the  war.* 

The  characteristics  of  the  commercial  press — every- 
thing which  distinguishes  it  from  the  other  types,  the 
organs,  and  the  propaganda  papers — are  determined  by 
the  fact  that  it  is  a  business  enterprise.  This  business 
consists,  in  the  last  analysis,  in  creating  and  selling  a 
single  commodity — namely,  advertising  space.  The 
value  of  advertising  space,  however,  is  determined  by 
the  character  and  extent  of  the  paid  circulation.  Cir- 
culation is  valuable  only  when  it  is  paid  for,  because,  in 
order  to  become  a  good  advertising  medium,  a  paper 
must  not  merely  be  circulated,  it  must  be  read;  and 
experience  has  shown  that,  as  a  rule,  a  man  who  buys 
a  paper  reads  it. 

^  Winifred  Rauschenbusch,  unpublished  report  on  the  German 
press. 

35i 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST 

Thus  the  commercial  paper  takes  on  the  character  of 
a  public  utility,  like  the  telephone  or  the  street-car 
system. 

The  success  of  the  Jevnsh  Morning  Journal,  for 
example,  is  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  it  is  the  only 
Jewish  morning  paper  in  New  York.  As  such  it  be- 
came the  natural  medium  for  the  publication  of  help- 
wanted  advertising,  because  working  people  begin  look- 
ing for  jobs  in  the  morning  and  naturally  buy  a  morning 
paper  to  learn  where  they  are  to  look.  The  Morning 
Journal  is  the  New  York  Times  of  the  East  Side  Jewish 
population.  It  has  a  circulation  of  75,000.  It  is  enter- 
prising as  a  news  gatherer,  conservative,  but  intelligent 
in  its  editorial  policies,  and  it  is  the  natural  medium  for 
communication  between  the  employer  and  employee. 

Since  the  commercial  press  is  interested  primarily  in 
circulation,  it  does  not  emphasize,  and  is  not  radical  in 
its  opinions,  but  prefers  news  to  the  interpretation  of 
the  news.  In  the  primitive  forms  of  journalism  of  fifty 
years  ago,  still  preserved  in  the  "journals  of  opinion" 
hke  the  Xew  Republic  and  the  Nation,  the  editor  took 
himself  very  seriously.  He  sought  not  merely  to  be  a 
spectator,  but  an  actor  in  the  drama.  Every  event 
must,  he  thought,  be  interpreted,  and  so  every  state- 
ment in  regard  to  current  events  became  an  opinion  of 
the  editor  rather  than  merely  a  fact.  Nothing  was  ever 
printed  for  its  mere  human  interest.  But  the  pubUsher 
of  the  commercial  newspaper  has  learned  that  the 
average  man  prefers  art  to  truth,  human  interest  to 
doctrines,  and  he  gives  the  public  what  it  wants. 

One  of  the  most  successful  newspaper  men  in  the 
United  States,  Mr.  James  E.  Scripps,  is  said  to  have 
made  the  important  discovery  early  in  life  that  news 
items  are  read  in  inverse  ratio  to  their  length,  and  he 
and  his  associates  have  built  up  a  whole  string  of  suc- 
cessful  newspapers   mainly   on   that   principle.     Mr. 

355 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Hearst  introduced  the  element  of  entertainment,  vaude- 
ville, into  journalism,  and  his  papers  are  said  to  be 
successful  mainly  because  of  the  comic  pictures  that 
they  publish. 

Many  of  the  foreign-language  papers  in  the  United 
States  have  learned  the  value  of  these  very  simple 
formulas.  They  address  themselves  to  the  common 
man  rather  than  the  "highbrow  ";  they  use  the  language 
of  ordinary  intercourse  rather  than  the  highly  special- 
ized language  of  the  sharply  differentiated  schools  of 
thought  into  which  the  intellectuals  divide.  The  worst 
thing  that  can  be  said  of  them  is  that  they  are  more 
concerned  about  the  interests  of  advertisers  than  about 
those  of  readers. 

The  commercial  press  is  more  interested  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  individual  man  than  in  that  of  any  organiza- 
tion or  society  of  men.  It  is  interested  in  the  common 
man  because  his  interests  are  universally  human  and 
intelligible;  they  are  such  things  as  births,  deaths,  and 
marriages;  the  intimate  dramas  of  domestic  life;  all 
the  things  which  the  news  of  the  day  supplies  that 
actually  make  gossip  and  that  might  make  literature. 
News  is  what  makes  people  talk. 

It  is  the  news  that  makes  papers  readable,  and  it  is 
news,  in  the  long  run,  that  makes  papers  read.  When 
the  Forward  began  to  make  literature  out  of  the  lives 
of  the  East  Side  Jews,  when  it  undertook  to  deal, 
through  its  Bindel  Brief,  with  the  problems  of  the  in- 
dividual man,  when  it  ceased  to  be  merely  the  organ  of 
a  httle  group  of  intellectuals  and  became  a  form  of 
literature,  an  organ  of  life  rather  than  of  a  party,  then 
it  became  a  successful  newspaper. 

So  every  newspaper  tends,  in  the  long  run,  in  the  mere 
struggle  for  existence,  to  become  something  that  it 
perhaps  did  not  intend  to  be.  This  is  again  the  natural 
history  of  the  press. 

356 


Part   IV 
CONTROL  OF  THE  PRESS 


XV 


THE    LEVERS    OF    CONTROL 

Foreign-language  newspapers,  as  we  have  tried  to 
show  in  this  volume,  are  a  power  to  be  reckoned  with 
in  the  Americanization  of  the  immigrants.    They  play 
an  important  part  in  the  changes  in  sentiment  and 
attitude   toward   the  home  country   and   the   United 
States,   for   it  is   only  through  publications   in   their 
mother  tongues  that  the  widely  scattered  representa- 
tives of  the  various  racial  groups  have  been  able  to    : 
maintain  such  contact  and  communication  as  would    j 
enable  them  to  preserve  their  national  organizations,    i 
their  common  traditions,  and  their  common  speech. 
According  to  its  content,  the  press  can  hasten  or  retard  : 
their  assimilation.    It  can  turn  their  interest  back  upon 
the  home  country,  or  focus  it  in  an  effort  to  revolution- 
ize this.    It  can,  on  the  other  hand,  introduce  America 
to  the  immigrant,  and  give  him  the  materials  on  which 
to  build  interest  and  affection.  • 

The  idea  of  "controlling"  any  press  is  repugnant  to 
the  lovers  of  free  speech.  Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
various  agencies  and  interests  have  successfully  at- 
tempted to  control  the  immigrant  press  for  purposes 
inimical  to  America.  If  honest  and  loyal  Americans 
refuse  to  take  any  steps  in  the  matter,  they  simply  give 
their  potential  control  into  less  scrupulous  hands. 

No  newspaper  is  a  free  agent.  It  is  the  product  of 
various  influences.  If  we  know  what  these  influences 
are,  and  their  relative  strength,  we  shall  know  how  to 

prevent  the  immigrant  editor  from  being  bulUed  into 

359 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

dangerous  courses,  and  how  to  give  America  at  least 
an  equal  chance  with  foreign  interests. 

REVENUE  THE   KEYNOTE 

The  nerve  of  the  press  situation  is  revenue.  An  analy- 
sis which  reveals  the  sources  of  income  of  the  news- 
papers generally  discloses  at  the  same  time  the  manner 
in  which,  directly  and  indirectly,  they  are  controlled. 

The  sources  of  newspaper  revenue  are  from  subscrip- 
tions, advertising,  and  subventions.  From  the  point 
of  view  of  control,  the  significance  of  these  three  items 
of  revenue  is  quite  different.  The  things  that  make 
the  difference  are:  (1)  the  degree  of  arbitrary  control 
which  can  be  exercised  by  any  single  individual  or  group 
of  individuals  over  the  sources  of  income,  and  (2)  the 
extent  to  which  the  existence  of  a  paper  is  dependent 
upon  that  part  of  its  income  which  can  be  controlled. 

SUBSIDIZED   AND  MENDICANT  JOURNALS 

Newspapers  which  obtain  their  revenue  from  a  political 
party  or  other  organization,  fraternal  or  religious,  are 
not  what  is  ordinarily  understood  as  "independent" 
papers.  Newspapers  become  independent  only  when 
the  editor  is  so  situated  that  his  opinions  are  not  dic- 
tated by  the  exigencies  of  party  or  institutional  inter- 
ests and  are  not  preordained  by  party  doctrine  or 
dogma. 

There  are  very  few  propagandist  papers  that  are  self- 
supporting.  Most  of  the  radical.  Socialist,  and  labor 
papers  are  mendicant  journals.  They  are  either  regu- 
larly supported  by  the  parties  and  societies  they  repre- 
sent, or  they  are  constantly  driven  to  appeal  to  the 
generosity  of  their  constituency  to  keep  them  alive. 

Die  Fackel  (the  Torch)  is  a  Socialist  weekly  which  has 

360 


THE  LE\TRS  OF  CONTROL 

been  published  in  Chicago  since  1879.  Like  Die  Arbeiter 
Zeihing  (the  Labor  News),  of  which  it  is  the  Sunday 
edition,  it  is  supported  by  the  contributions  of  forty- 
two  German  labor  organizations  in  Chicago.  Nine  of 
these  organizations  still  use  the  German  language  in 
their  meetings.  In  the  issue  for  September  21,  1919, 
was  the  following  appeal,  to  which  were  appended  lists 
of  contributions  ranging  in  amounts  from  twenty-five 
dollars  to  twenty-five  cents.  The  larger  contributions 
were  mostly  from  clubs  and  societies. 

Much  Too  Slowly! 

The  $25,000  fund  is  coming  in  slowly — much  too  slowly. 

Our  readers  and  friends  seem  to  be  of  the  opinion  that 
there  is  no  hurry. 

On  the  contrary,  time  is  an  element.  We  have  got  to  know 
where  we  are  at. 

Our  expenditures  in  the  immediate  future  will  be  tremen- 
dously increasetl. 

Already,  on  August  25th  the  union  secured  an  increase  of 
wages,  which  necessitates  our  paying  out  $2,000  more  a  week. 
So  far  we  have  not  been  able  to  meet  this  raise  in  wages. 
Naturally,  we  have  to.  The  union  insists  on  it.  Our  other 
expenditures  are  going  up  in  the  same  way. 

So  there  is  real  danger,  comrades! 

In  order  to  meet  all  obligations,  the  directors  of  the  Arbeiter 
Zeitmig  must  know  whether  measures  will  be  taken  which 
will  secure  the  future  existence  of  the  paper  in  spite  of  its 
burdens. 

It  is  these  circumstances  which  compel  us,  in  all  earnest- 
ness, to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  it  is  simply  impossible 
to  assume  obligations  of  something  like  $15,000  a  year  unless, 
at  the  same  time,  an  income  of  the  same  amount  is  forth- 
coming. 

To  secure  this  we  need  $25,000  at  least. 

Other  papers  have  been  facing  similar  crises.  The  New 
York  Call  succeeded  in  getting  together  $150,000,  and  is 
saved, 

S61 


THE  BtMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Yoii  can  save  the  Arheiter  Zeiiung  too,  if  you  want  to. 

Not  with  words,  but  with  sacrifices,  you  can  save  it,  if 
every  one  of  you  will  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  and  con- 
tribute his  mite  to  the  $25,000  fund.* 

Most  of  the  Italian  and  Spanish  Socialist  and  anarchist 
papers  publish  lists  of  donors,  with  the  amounts  of  their 
contributions.  A  copy  of  the  Cultura  Obrera,  a  Spanish  paper 
published  at  Laredo,  Texas,  contains  lists  of  contributions 
ranging  from  five  cents  to  a  dollar,  from  places  as  remote  as 
York,  Arizona,  and  Baltimore,  Maryland.  One  of  these  lists 
containing  110  names  from  Gary,  Illinois,  represents  con- 
tributions to  the  amount  of  $49.50. 

The  most  interestmg  of  mendicant  journals  is  the  Italian 
anarchist  paper  Cronica  Suvvcrsiva  (Revolutionary  Chron- 
icle). The  editor  of  this  paper,  Luigi  Galleani,  came  to 
America  about  1901.  He  was  apparently  at  that  time  a 
fugitive  from  justice.  He  established  his  paper  at  Lynn, 
Massachusetts.  During  the  World  War  the  Post  Office  De- 
partment made  the  most  determined  efforts  to  suppress  the 
paper,  but  was  never  quite  successful.  Galleani  always 
found  a  way  to  evade  the  censorship.  Meanwhile,  he  con- 
tinued to  storm  against  the  government  and  all  governments. 
Eventually,  however,  he  was  deported. 

Galleani  was  supported  by  small  contributions  from  Italian 
laborers  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  His  methods  of 
appeal  were  imique.  Following  are  samples  of  Galleani's 
style:  2 

Remember,  you  readers  of  the  Cronica,  that  these  hostages 
have  put  their  companions  and  children  under  our  jpgis;  that 
indifference  here  takes  on  the  odious  appearance  of  betrayal; 
and  that  each  one  should  give  without  delay  for  the  victims 
of  the  reaction  at  Seattle.* 


*  Die  Fackcl,  September  21,  1919.  (Ninety-one  people  contributed 
during  one  week.  Most  of  the  contributions  were  for  less  than  two 
dollars.     Twenty-two  were  for  twenty-five  cents  each.) 

2  Notes  of  the  translator. 

3  Cronica  Suwersiva  (Italian),  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  January  26, 
1918. 

362 


THE  LEVERS  OF  CONTROL 

This  is  a  rag  of  a  paper,  that  gets  along  on  crusts,  on  bread 
scraps,  supported  and  paid  for  by  5,000  beggars,' 

The  Lettish  paper,  Biletins  (the  Bulletin),  of  January 
9,  1918,  in  a  sort  of  inaugural  address  to  its  future 
readers,  makes  the  remark  that  "it  is  a  very  common 
thing  for  a  new  periodical  in  its  first  issue  to  make  a 
statement  to  the  public  in  regard  to  its  needs  and  its 
program."  In  conclusion,  the  publishers  cast  them- 
selves upon  the  hospitality  of  the  public,  with  the 
statement  that  the  "existence  of  the  Biletins  rests  upon 
the  will  of  the  organized  proletariat  of  America  and 
mainly  upon  that  of  the  members  of  the  Lettish 
Federation." 

This  is  a  characteristic  expression  of  the  attitude  of 
the  propagandist  press.  There  is  a  general  assumption 
of  the  representative  and  public  character  of  the  enter- 
prise, but  no  disposition  to  guarantee  the  individual 
reader  what  he  wants  and  needs.  It  is  this  assumption 
by  the  Socialist,  radical,  and  propagandist  press  gen- 
erally that  distinguishes  it  from  the  individuahsm  of 
the  commercial  press  and  that  justifies,  perhaps,  appeals 
to  the  public  for  assistance,  which  a  mere  business 
enterprise  could  not  and  would  not  make. 

BALANCE    OF   POWER   SHIFTS   TO   ADl^ERTISING 

One  of  the  most  significant  facts  about  the  independent 
newspaper  is  the  steady  increase  in  recent  years  in  the 
item  of  advertising  over  subscriptions  as  a  source  of 
income.  This  change  can  be  traced  in  the  American 
press  printed  in  English.  Fifty  years  ago  newspapers 
still  lived  largely  upon  their  income  from  subscribers. 
At  that  time  papers  sold  for  five  cents  a  copy. 

*  Cronica  Suwersiva    (Italian),  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  March    9, 
1918. 
24  363 


THE  BliVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

From  1850  to  1870,  according  to  Talcott  Williams,  head  of 
the  Columbia  School  of  Journalism,  "The  proportional  yield 
from  advertising  in  the  United  States  dailies  was  one-third 
to  one-half  of  the  total  income."  From  1870  to  1890  the 
paper  that  broke  even  on  advertising  and  circulation  was 
"sound."  1 

By  1900  advertising  represented  55  per  cent  of  the 
total  income  of  all  journals.  At  that  time  the  publish- 
ers of  the  metropolitan  dailies  felt  they  were  conduct- 
ing a  safe  business  when  the  returns  from  the  sales  of 
papers  covered  the  cost  of  white  paper  and  of  dis- 
tribution. Five  years  later  the  relative  value  of  adver- 
tising to  sales  had  increased  to  56.6  per  cent  of  the 
whole.  In  1910  the  revenue  from  advertising  repre- 
sented 60  per  cent  of  the  total  income. 

The  census  figures  which  exhibit  the  sources  of  income  of 
journalistic  publications  do  not  distinguish  between  daily 
papers  and  other  forms  of  journalism.  There  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  the  percentage  of  income  from  advertising  is 
proportionately  larger  for  daily  newspapers  than  for  other 
periodicals.  Joseph  Blethen,  manager  of  the  Seattle  Times, 
stated  in  the  Publisher  s  Guide,  December,  1915,  that  the 
circulation  of  his  paper  produced  but  20  per  cent  of  the 
total  income,  and  that  the  cost  of  white  paper  alone  was 
25  cents  a  month  for  each  subscriber,  while  the  income  from 
subscribers  was  but  25  cents  for  the  same  period.  Since  that 
time  the  selling  price  of  newspapers  has  been  pretty  generally 
doubled,  but  in  the  same  period  the  cost  of  white  paper  has 
increased  from  $2.25  to  something  like  $6.50  per  hundred 
poimds.  In  fact,  the  price  for  paper  in  the  open  market  in 
1917  ran  as  high  as  $200  per  ton.'^ 

The  proportion  of  income  from  advertising  and  from 
circulation  is  probably  different  for  foreign-language 

»  Publisher's  Guide,  September,  1915,  p.  21. 

^Printer's  Ink,  December  25,  1919.  Letter  from  L.  B.  Palmer, 
manager  of  the  American  Newspaper  Association. 

364 


THE  LEVERS  OF  CONTROL 

and  for  English  papers.  In  general,  foreign-language 
newspapers  resemble,  in  organization  and  in  content, 
the  English  papers  of  forty  years  ago.  Very  few  pub- 
lishers of  the  foreign-language  press  have  learned  to 
take  the  detached  and  impersonal  attitude  of  the 
American  newspaper  man  toward  the  contents  of  the 
papers  they  print.  They  do  not  quite  accept  the 
philosophy  of  the  editor  who  said  he  was  "willing  to 
print  anything  that  God  would  let  happen."  The  for- 
eign-language newspapers  are  never,  to  quite  the  ex- 
tent that  this  is  true  of  an  American  journal,  business 
institutions. 

RELATIVE   CONTROL  OF  SUBSCRIBERS  AND  ADVERTISERS 

The  source  of  newspaper  income  over  which  individuals 
or  groups  of  individuals  can  exercise  control  is  circu- 
lation. A  paper  which  has  a  large  and  established 
circulation  has  a  source  of  revenue  which  is  more  in- 
dependent of  arbitrary  control  from  the  outside  than 
that  which  it  obtains  from  any  other  source.  One 
reason  for  this  is  that  the  public  which  supports  a 
paper,  particularly  the  public  which  supports  an  inde- 
pendent paper,  is  not  organized  and  cannot  act  as  a 
unit.  It  cannot  act  arbitrarily.  That  is  the  significance 
of  the  change  in  the  balance  between  revenue  from  cir- 
culation and  from  advertising.  As  long  as  the  main 
source  of  revenue  of  the  press  was  circulation,  the  press 
was  relatively  independent  of  the  advertiser.  But  the 
struggle  for  circulation  has  constantly  tended  to  lower 
selling  prices.  A  lower  selling  price  meant  larger  cir- 
culation, and  larger  circulation  meant  larger  advertis- 
ing revenue.  The  increasing  influence  of  the  adver- 
tiser, representing  as  he  does  the  capitalist  class,  has 
been  frequently  referred  to  in  recent  discussions  of  the 
press  as  a  menace  to  democracy. 

365 


THE  IMIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

The  value  of  newspaper  advertising,  however,  is 
created  by  circulation.  If  we  assume  that  the  paper 
which  gains  circulation  represents,  and  seeks  to  repre- 
sent, the  interests  and  wishes  of  the  general  public,  and 
advertising  represents  the  commercial  interests,  it  is 
apparent  that  in  the  newspaper  these  two  forces  do 
not  merely  balance  one  another;  they  are  interde- 
pendent. The  business  man  is  bound  to  advertise  in 
the  paper  which  has  the  largest  circulation,  and  the 
paper  which  has  the  largest  circulation  will  at  least 
tend  to  be  the  paper  that  most  effectively  reflects  the 
interests,  defines  the  attitudes  and  the  opinions  of  the 
largest  public. 

Just  as  the  business  man  will  not  refuse  to  sell  his 
goods  to  individuals  who  do  not  share  his  religious  or 
political  views,  so  he  will  not,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, refuse  to  advertise  in  a  newspaper  which  does 
not  express  his  views  on  political  and  social  questions. 
He  is  much  more  likely  to  seek  to  induce  the  govern- 
ment to  suppress  an  obnoxious  paper  or  to  create  pub- 
lic prejudice  against  it,  and  so  reduce  the  number  of  its 
subscribers,  than  to  injure  it  by  refusing  to  advertise 
in  it.  The  attitude  of  the  business  man  toward  the 
press  is  pretty  accurately  reflected  in  the  current  phi- 
losophy of  the  advertising  man. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  certain  that  the  interests  of 
business  men,  whether  for  good  or  for  ill,  do  exercise  a 
very  great,  and  perhaps  increasing,  indirect  influence 
upon  the  newspaper  press.  One  reason  for  this  is  the 
fact  that  newspapers  themselves  have  become  business 
enterprises,  frequently  employing  large  capital.  It  is, 
however,  with  the  weaker  newspaper — papers  which, 
while  dependent  upon  advertising  to  live,  have  no  very 
secure  hold  through  their  circulation  upon  the  public — 
that  the  weight  of  the  politicians'  and  advertisers* 
money  counts.    It  is  the  weaker  independent  and  com- 


THE  LE\^RS  OF  CONTROL 

mercial  papers,  which  do  not  have  the  backing  of  party 
or  other  organization,  which  are  most  easily  influenced 
in  their  editorial  and  news  policies  by  advertising. 

Now,  a  very  large  number  of  the  foreign-language 
newspapers  are  of  this  kind.  They  have  been  started 
with  a  small  capital  and  an  equally  small  fund  of  ex- 
perience. In  order  to  keep  alive  they  are  willing,  and 
sometimes  eager,  to  sell  themselves  to  interests  and  to 
causes  in  regard  to  which  they  are  otherwise  indifferent, 
if  not  hostile. 

The  point  to  be  emphasized  is  that  the  influence  of 
advertising,  even  in  the  foreign-language  press,  is  not 
so  direct  nor  so  powerful  as  it  sometimes  seems.  The 
fact  is  that  almost  any  newspaper  which  has  a  suffi- 
ciently large  circulation  can,  if  it  chooses  to  do  so, 
protect  itself  against  any  undue  influence  which  busi- 
ness men  seek  to  exercise  by  the  withdrawal  of  adver- 
tising patronage  for  other  than  business  reasons.  It 
can  do  this  by  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  adver- 
tising has  been  withdrawn,  and  explaining  the  reason 
why. 

In  considering  the  influence  which  advertising  may 
and  does  exercise  upon  the  foreign-language  paper,  it 
is  important  to  distinguish  between  different  forms  of 
advertising — e.g.,  local  as  compared  with  national  or 
"foreign"  advertising. 

LOCAL   ADVERTISING   UNORGANIZED 

The  immigrant  press  is  part  of  the  immigrant  com- 
munity. It,  therefore,  becomes  the  advertising  medium 
not  only  for  all  the  local  dealers  in  the  community,  but 
for  the  foreign-language  bookstore,  bank,  theater, 
steamship  agency,  as  well  as  for  the  professions,  the 
lawj^ers  and  physicians,  of  the  community. 

The  advertising  space  of  170  papers  of  different  tj^aes, 
3G7 


THE  IISIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

belonging  to  24  language  groups,  was  examined,  and 
the  proportionate  amount  of  space  given  to  different 
items  of  advertising  ascertained.  According  to  these 
tables,  the  total  space  given  to  local  advertising  was  64 
per  cent  of  all  advertising.  Organization,  bank,  doctor, 
and  department-store  "ads"  occupy  more  space  than 
any  other  kind. 

Another  form  of  local  advertising  which  has  greatly 
increased  in  importance  during  the  war  is  "labor 
wanted" — what  is  called  in  the  English  press  "classified 
advertising."  For  some  years  past  publishers  of  for- 
eign-language papers  have  been  calling  the  attention  of 
employers  and  employment  agencies  to  the  fact  that 
the  speediest  method  of  reaching  the  immigrant  laborer 
is  through  the  medium  of  his  own  paper.  During  the 
World  War,  when  the  demand  for  all  kinds  of  labor 
became  suddenly  acute,  there  was  a  great  increase  in 
the  amount  of  classified  advertising  in  the  foreign- 
language  papers.  The  Jetmsh  Morning  Journal,  which 
is,  with  the  exception  of  //  Progresso,  the  largest  medium 
for  this  sort  of  advertising,  frequently  prints  as  much 
as  thirteen  or  fourteen  columns  a  day. 

During  the  war  something  hke  half  a  dozen  or  more 
advertising  agencies  sprang  up  in  New  York  which 
specialized  in  this  sort  of  advertising.  Each  one  of  these 
agencies  made  itself  the  central  bureau  for  a  group  of 
papers  in  two  or  three  languages.  Advertisements  were 
collected  at  the  central  bureau  and  then  distributed  to 
the  papers  in  which  they  might  be  expected  to  bring 
the  quickest  returns. 

One  reason  why  papers  are  eager  to  get  classified, 
and  particularly  "labor  wanted"  advertisements,  is 
that  this  advertising  has  news  value.  In  a  great  city 
like  New  York,  an  enormous  number  of  people  in  the 
clothing  and  other  industries  are  constantly  looking  for 
chances  to  change  their  employment  or  their  location. 

SGS 


THE  LEVERS  OF  CONTROL 

The  fact  that  opportunities  are  so  many  and  so  varied 
makes  the  reading  of  the  "want"  column  a  form  of 
sport,  and  this  form  of  sport  greatly  increased  during 
and  since  the  war,  in  view  of  the  shortage  of  labor  and 
for  other  reasons. 

Labor-wanted  "ads"  are  to  be  found  especially  in 
the  press  of  the  migrant  industrials  and  in  the  cosmo- 
politan press.  The  Japanese  dailies  have  a  good  deal 
of  labor-wanted  advertising.  The  Los  Angeles  News 
has  20  per  cent,  the  Colorado  Times  of  Denver  has 
22,2  per  cent,  and  the  Utah  Nippo  of  Salt  Lake  City 
has  30.7  per  cent.  These  papers  are  read  by  the 
Japanese  workmen  who  are  employed  in  various  kinds 
of  public  works  and  in  railroad  construction. 

Neither  the  local  nor  the  classified  advertising  has 
been  used,  or  can  be  used,  to  any  great  extent  to  in- 
fluence or  control  the  press.  It  is  like  news;  it  makes 
the  paper  more  interesting;  it  appeals  to  the  public 
and  not  to  any  organized  group  capable  of  exercising 
arbitrary  control  over  the  policies  of  the  paper  in  which 
their  advertisements  are  published. 

POTENTIAL   POWER    OF   NATIONAL  ADVERTISING 

The  situation  with  the  so-called  "foreign"  or  national 
advertising  is  diflFerent.  All  advertising  that  is  not 
distinctly  local  is  national. 

The  first  national  advertisers  were  the  patent-medi- 
cine manufacturers.  It  was  discovered,  about  1868  or 
1870,  that  it  was  possible  to  sell  certain  kinds  of  com- 
modities by  mail — patent  medicines,  for  example.  Ad- 
vertisements, framed  in  a  way  to  intrigue  the  readers 
of  the  local  press,  made  patent  medicines  popular  in 
the  remote  villages. 

There  are  differences  in  the  character  of  medical 
advertisements.      Some    of    them    are    so    manifestly 

309 


THE  BIMIGK\NT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

fraudulent  on  their  face  that  the  Post  Office  authorities 
exclude  them  from  the  mails.  Others  are  so  worded 
that  they  escape  this  censorship. 

Medical  and  mail  order  advertising  soon  fell  into  dis- 
repute, and  this  long  prevented  the  growth  of  more 
legitimate  forms  of  national  advertising.  Manufac- 
turers did  not  want  to  put  their  goods  in  the  same  class 
with  the  patent  medicines  by  advertising  them  on  the 
same  page.  This  situation  has  led  publishers  of  Amer- 
ican papers  to  purge  their  pages  of  the  grosser  forms 
of  advertising  swindles.  For  a  number  of  years  pro- 
fessional advertising  men  have  co-operated  with  the 
public  authorities  in  an  effort  to  purge  the  columns  of 
the  press  from  this  and  other  questionable  forms  of 
advertising.  No  such  housecleaning  has  yet  been  under- 
taken by  the  foreign-language  papers.  Rather,  they 
have  become  the  refuge  of  every  form  of  fraudulent 
advertising  no  longer  tolerated  in  the  English  papers.^ 

The  manufacturers  of  patent  medicines  paid  large 
sums  for  advertising.  It  was  a  rule  in  the  earher  mail 
order  business  that  an  article  costing  333^  cents  should 
sell  for  a  dollar.  Of  the  CG^  cents  gross  profit,  33^^^ 
cents  was  spent  in  advertising.  The  remaining  33}^ 
cents  was  net.  The  Post  Office  Department  estimates 
that  the  amount  of  sales  of  what  it  calls  "outrageous 
schemes"  is  $120,000,000.  The  portion  of  this  sum 
distributed  to  the  press  in  the  form  of  advertising  has 
kept  many  foreign-language  papers  aUve  that  would 
otherwise  have  gone  to  the  wall.^ 

The  foreign-language  newspapers  printed  patent 
medicine  and  mail  order  advertising  almost  from  the 
first.    Medical  advertising  still  holds  a  very  large  place 

^  See  Michael  M.  Davis,  Jr.,  Immigrant  Health  and  the  Community, 
chap.  viii. 

z  C.  W.  Pahnan,  secretary-treasurer,  National  Advertisers,  "  Fake 
Advertising,"  in  Publisher's  Guide,  December,  1914. 

370 


THE  LEVERS  OF  CONTROL 

in  the  columns  of  the  foreign-language  press.  It  occu- 
pies about  12.7  per  cent  of  the  advertising  space  of  the 
foreign-language  press  as  a  whole,  and  14.7  per  cent  of 
the  space  of  its  big  dailies.  These  figures  are  taken 
from  two  tables  of  advertising  statistics;  the  first 
based  on  an  analysis  of  the  advertising  of  170  papers 
of  different  types  in  24  languages;  the  second,  on  an 
analysis  of  the  advertising  of  the  20  largest  daihes  in 
20  language  groups. 

Of  this  12.7  per  cent  of  medical  advertising,  some- 
thing like  5.8  per  cent  is  doctors'  advertising,  and  6.9 
per  cent  is  patent  medicine  advertising.  The  doctors' 
"ads"  are  usually  those  of  reputable  local  physicians 
of  the  immigrant  group.  Where  there  is  a  great  deal 
of  patent  medicine  advertising,  however,  there  are 
usually  also  advertisements  of  quack  doctors.  In  the 
largest  Chinese  daily,  the  Chung  Sai  Vat  Po  of  San 
Francisco,  44.5  per  cent  of  all  advertising  is  patent 
medicine  advertising.  It  also  has  a  great  many  doctors' 
"ads." 

Only  one  of  the  five  doctors  who  advertises  is  an  old- 
fashioned  Chinese  doctor:  "accompanied  is  the  diagnosis  of 
the  pulse."  In  fact,  the  whole  process  of  Chinese  Ameri- 
canization can  be  seen  most  clearly  in  the  medical  adver- 
tisements. One  doctor  in  Sonora,  Mexico,  has  his  photo- 
graph in  Chinese  dress;  another  doctor  is  in  white  collar 
and  tortoise-shell  glasses.  These  doctors'  "ads"  consist 
mostly  of  testimonials  from  patients  in  Hawaii  and  Canada. 
There  are  three  kinds  of  drug  store  advertising;  there  is  the 
typical  Chinese  ginseng  and  deer's  horn,  the  most  expensive 
Chinese  medicines.  Then  there  is  the  Chinese  drug  store 
which  advertises  twenty  to  thirty  kinds  of  herb  medicines, 
including  brain  medicine,  and  medicine  for  having  children. 
There  is  also  the  American  drug  store,  which  advertises  some 
particular  remedy — last  of  all  there  are  the  straight  patent 
medicine  "ads."  ' 

^  Note  of  the  translator. 

371 


TiiE  bumigrant  press  and  its  control 

The  Chinese  papers  all  have  a  great  deal  of  patent 
medicine  and  medical  advertising.  So  have  some  of  the 
big  daiUes  of  other  groups.  The  Bulgarian  daily,  the 
Naroden  Glas  of  Cleveland,  has  37.5  per  cent,  and  the 
Polish  Zgoda  of  Chicago  has  24  per  cent  of  patent 
medicine  advertising.  In  general,  the  daihes  of  the 
exotics  and  migrant  industrials  seem  to  have  more 
quack  medicine  "ads"  than  the  dailies  of  the  settlers 
and  colonists. 

The  Swedish  evangelical  paper,  Missions-V dnneriy 
and  the  Hungarian  magazine,  the  Berko  Kepes  Ujsazja, 
have  31  and  40  per  cent  of  medical  advertising. 

TABLE  XIX 

Papers  Havtng  High  Percentage  of  Patent  Medicine  "Ads" 


Per 

CENT  OF 

Laj»gcage 

Paper 

Circu- 
lation 

Ttpe 

Patent 
Medi- 
cine 
"ads." 

German 

Echo,  Post,  Beobachter 

10,000 

organ 

100.0 

Bohemian 

Pokrok  Zapadu 

21,000 

daily 

45.5 

French  

Opinion  Publique. . . . 

5,390 

daily 

41.5 

Hungarian  — 

Berko  Kepes  Ujsazja. 

25,000 

literary 

40.0 

Norw.-Dan . . . 

Skandinaven 

22.000 
18,000 

daily 

evangelical . . 

33.0 

Swedish 

Missions-V  dnnen .... 

31.0 

The  Echo,  Post,  und  Beobachter,  which  has  100  per 
cent  medical  advertising,  was  formerly  published  by 
George  H.  von  Massow  and  A.  H.  Wagoner.  Wagoner, 
who  was  formerly  connected  with  the  Illinois  Staats- 
zeitung,  also  ran  an  advertising  bureau  for  a  number  of 
small  German  papers.  This  paper  advertised  itself  in 
the  following  manner: 

Merged  in  the  Echo  are  the  following  newspapers:  the 
Beobachter  of  Chicago;  the  Post  of  Forest  Park;  the  Volksblatt 

372 


THE  LE\TRS  OF  CONTROL 

of  JoHet,  Will  County,  Illinois;  the  McHenry  Fainilienfreund 
of  McHenry  County,  Illinois,  and  the  Concordia  of  Chicago. 

The  Echo,  Post,  and  Beohachter  is  also  a  local  newspaper 
for  Forest  Park,  Oak  Park,  River  Forest,  Maywood,  Melrose 
Park,  Bellwood,  Hillside,  River  Grove,  Franklin  Park,  Mann- 
heim, Kolze,  Elmhurst,  Lombard,  Addison,  Bensenville, 
Lyons,  Summit,  Niles,  and  Niles  Center,  in  which  over  50  per 
cent  of  the  population  are  Germans. 

The  Echo,  Post,  and  Beohachter  has  been  the  official  news- 
paper of  Du  Page  County  for  over  twenty-five  years,  and 
Proviso  Township  for  fifteen  years. 

The  Atlantic  City  Freie  Presse  says  of  the  Echo,  Post, 
und  Beohachter:  "It  is  the  oflScial  newspaper  of  a  num- 
ber of  large  German  societies,  whose  news  it  publishes. 
.  .  .  Under  present  conditions,  and  with  the  battle  of 
the  Germans  for  personal  liberty,  it  is  commendable  to 
support  a  newspaper  of  that  kind."  The  Echo,  Post, 
und  Beohachter  recently  gave  up  the  struggle  as  a  news- 
paper and  became  the  organ  of  the  Deutsch  Ameri- 
kanischer  Burger  Bund,  a  German  mutual  benefit 
society.  A  practical  index  of  the  conscience  and  re- 
sponsibility which  newspapers  display  in  the  selection 
of  their  advertising,  is  the  relative  amount  of  medical 
advertising  which  they  print. 

The  Socialist  papers  usually  claim  that  they  accept 
no  fake  medicine  advertisements,  no  fake  real  estate 
advertisements,  and  no  political  advertising.  Of  the 
17  Socialist  papers  whose  advertising  was  examined, 
the  percentage  of  patent  medicine  advertising  was  5.9 
per  cent  as  compared  with  6.9  per  cent  in  all  types  of 
papers.  The  Lithuanian  Socialist  paper,  Keleivis,  which 
has  16.2  per  cent  of  patent  medicine  advertising,  is  one 
of  the  few  Socialist  papers  which  is  financially  self- 
supporting. 

It  is  probably  true  that  a  good  many  of  the  foreign- 
language  papers  could  not  continue  to  exist  if  they 

373 


THE  IMMIGR.\NT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

were  deprived  of  their  medical  advertisements  unless 
they  made  themselves  the  organ  of  some  society,  party, 
or  faction. 

Other  forms  of  national  advertising  have  begun  more 
recently  to  patronize  the  foreign-language  papers. 

There  are  now  [1914]  10,177  national  advertisers  in  the 
United  States.  In  the  daj's  when  Pears'  Soap  began  to 
advertise,  all  national  advertisers  were  in  the  big  cities. 
Now  they  are  located  in  28^2  cities.  Most  early  national 
advertising  started  ui  New  England,  where  the  first  novelties, 
Yankee  notions,  were  manufactured.  Now  there  are  towns 
not  only  in  New  England,  but  all  over  the  Middle  West,  that 
have  been  made  famous  by  the  advertisements  that  their 
manufacturers  give  them — Waltham  watches,  Brockton  shoes, 
Troy  shirts,  Rochester  kodaks.  Grand  Rapids  furniture.  Bay 
City  Aladin  houses.  Battle  Creek  grapenuts,  cornflakes,  etc., 
Akron  rubber.  Foreign  advertising  is  now  about  20  per 
cent  of  all  the  advertising  in  newspapers,  and  is  constantly 
increasing. 1 

Martin's  Merchandising  Reporting  Service  for  May  15, 1917, 
states  that  the  percentage  of  money  spent  on  advertising  in 
proportion  to  sales  is  as  follows  for  certain  leading  national 
advertisers  :2 

Per  Cent 

Arrow  collars 3,1 2 

Colgate  preparations IJ2 

Fatima  cigarettes 5 

Ivory  soap 3 

Kodaks 3 

Old  Dutch  Cleanser 10 

Portland  cement 2 

Velvet  tobacco 6 

Sherwin-Williams  paint 3j^ 

Big  displays  of  American  tobacco  firms,  American 
machinery,  and  American    graphophones  now  appear 

'  Printer's  Ink,  June  5,  1914. 
*  Ibid.,  May  17,  1917,  p.  99. 

374 


THE  LE\TRS  OF  CONTROL 

in  the  foreign-language  press.  During  the  war  much 
space  was  taken  up  by  Liberty  Loan  "ads."  At  pres- 
ent the  American  Association  of  Foreign  Language 
Newspapers,  under  Miss  Frances  Kellor's  direction,  is 
introducing  "ads"  of  American  food  products  Uke 
Mazola  and  Washington  Crisps.  Some  of  the  daiUes 
of  large  circulation,  like  the  Italian  II  Progresso,  the 
Greek  Atlantis,  the  Norwegian-Danish  Posien  og  Ved 
Amen,  and  the  Yiddish  Morning  Journal,  have  more 
than  15  per  cent  of  this  kind  of  national  advertising. 

The  bulk  of  national  advertising  is  distributed 
through  agencies  existing  for  the  purpose.  This  sys- 
tem gives  the  agency  control  over  a  considerable  pro- 
portion of  the  income  of  the  papers  with  which  it  deals, 
especially  when  it  acts  for  American  advertisers  in  the 
httle-known  field  of  the  immigrant  press. 

It  is  not  likely,  however,  that  medical  advertising 
has  been  used  to  influence  the  opinions  and  poUcies  of 
the  foreign-language  press. 

For  one  thing,  medical  advertising  has  never  been 
centralized  and  controlled  as  other  forms  of  national 
advertising  have.  The  agencies  that  specialize  in  the 
sale  of  medical  advertising  to  the  foreign-language 
papers  are  small  and  irresponsible.  A  good  many  of 
the  manufacturers  of  nostrums  maintain  their  own 
agencies,  and  they  have  no  political  or  social  opinion 
which  they  are  willing  to  spend  money  to  support. 

Of  all  the  foreign-language  advertising  agencies — 
and  the  number  of  them  is  large — only  those  established 
by  or  for  the  German  and  Scandinavian  papers  have 
had  a  reputation  for  efficiency,  honesty,  and  real 
ser\'ice. 

One  of  the  oldest  of  these  agencies  is  that  of  the  C. 
Rasmussen  Company  in  Minneapolis.  Rasmussen  is  a 
Dane,  a  publisher  of  a  number  of  papers — a  Norwegian- 
Danish,  Illustrerei  Familie  Journal,  a  monthly;  a  similar 

375 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

publication  in  Swedish,  and  a  weekly  Danish  political 
paper,  the  Ugebladet.  He  is  also  the  author  of  a  num- 
ber of  studies  of  Danish-American  history  which  are 
intended  eventually  to  make  a  history  of  the  Danish 
people  in  America.  The  Rasmussen  Company,  which 
was  established  in  1874,  has  the  agency  for  seventy- 
five  Scandinavian  papers — sixty-five  weekUes,  seven 
monthlies,  and  three  semimonthlies — in  Canada  and 
the  United  States,  which  claim  a  combined  circulation 
of  917,750. 

The  German  papers  maintain  a  certain  number  of 
little  independent  agencies,  but  for  the  most  part  they 
use  the  American  advertising  agencies.  They  have 
never  put  themselves  in  the  same  class  with  the  other 
foreign  papers,  and  never  became  cUents  of  the  Ham- 
merling  agency. 

It  was  not  until  Louis  Hammerling  established  his  ad- 
vertising agency,  under  the  title  "  American  Association 
of  Foreign  Language  Newspapers,"  that  the  major- 
ity of  the  foreign-language  papers  received  any  con- 
sideration from  the  national  advertisers.  This  remark- 
able man  showed  to  what  lengths  an  unscrupulous  and 
efficient  organization  could  go  in  controlling  the  immi- 
grant press. 


XVI 

THE   MANIPULATIONS    OF   HAMMERLING 

The  outstanding  example  of  undue  influence  exerted 
on  the  foreign-language  press  through  control  of  ad- 
vertising is  that  provided  by  Louis  N.  Hammerhng 
and  his  agency,  the  American  Association  of  Foreign 
Language  Newspapers.  This  organization  was  investi- 
gated by  the  Sixty-sixth  United  States  Senate  in  con- 
nection with  its  report  on  Breming  and  Liquor  Interests 
and  German  and  Bolshevik  Propaganda.  The  commit- 
tee's findings  gave  an  adequate  idea  of  Mr.  Hammer- 
ling's  methods  and  achievements  during  his  ten  years 
of  activity. 

The  American  Association  of  Foreign  Language 
Newspapers  was  unique.  Under  Mr.  Hammerling  it 
gained  a  prestige  and  an  influence  with  the  publishers 
of  the  foreign-language  papers  on  the  one  hand,  and 
with  the  national  advertisers  on  the  other,  that  made 
it  indispensable  to  both.  Incidentally,  Hammerling, 
who  according  to  his  own  account  was  an  immigrant 
laborer  of  no  education,  became  a  figure  of  national 
importance  politically  through  the  influence  he  was 
supposed  to  have  w4th  the  seven  hundred  newspapers 
that  were  members  of  his  association. 

The  agency  was  established  in  New  York  in  1908. 
Its  origins  are  somewhat  obscure.  Hammerling  was 
for  a  time  connected  with  a  Polish  paper  in  \Yilkes- 
Barre,  and  also  solicited  advertising  for  the  United 
Mine  Workers'  Journal.  His  connection  with  these 
papers  got  him  into  politics,  and  in  1904  he  came  to 
New  York  to  handle  the  foreign-language  press  for  the 

377 


THE  EVBIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Republican  party.     He  continued  this  service  for  the 
national  Republican  party  up  to  and  through  1916. 

It  was  apparently  through  his  connection  with  poli- 
tics and  because  of  his  success  in  handhng  the  foreign- 
language  press  that  Hammerling  and  the  Foreign  Lan- 
guage Press  Association  got  their  start.  The  following 
testimony  of  Mr.  Hammerling  before  the  Senate  Com- 
mittee on  the  Brewing  and  Liquor  Interests  and  German 
.  .  .  Propaganda  tells  the  story  and  at  the  same  time 
introduces  Mr.  HammerUng  personally. 


TESTIMONY   OF  MR.    LOUIS   N.    HAMMERLING 

Question. — "\Miere  do  you  live? 

Answer. — At  104  East  Fortieth  Street,  New  York. 

Q. — What  is  your  business? 

A. — I  am  president  of  the  American  Association  of  Foreign 
Language  Newspapers. 

Q. — The  American  Association  of  Foreign  Language  News- 
papers is  a  corporation? 

A. — Yes. 

Q. — When  was  it  organized? 

A.— In  1908. 

Q. — \Mio  were  the  incorporators? 

A. — The  incorporators  were  E.  M.  Grilla,  Mr.  Carpenter — 
I  do  not  remember  his  initials,  but  he  was  an  attorney. 

Q. — Edwin  E.  Carpenter? 

A. — He  was  an  attorney  for  the  company  when  it  was 
organized — Oliver  C.  Carpenter,  I  think,  was  the  name;  and 
Mr.  Gates,  I  think,  was  Mr.  Carpenter's  assistant. 

Q. — At  whose  instance  was  the  charter  secured? 

A. — At  Mr.  Carpenter's,  I  think. 

Q. — At  whose  instance  did  they  get  this  charter? 

A. — Mine. 

Q. — What  did  you  organize  it  for?    Wbat  was  your  object? 

A. — I  bought  out  an  advertising  agency  called  the  Italian- 
American  Advertising  Agency. 

Q. — You  are  not  an  Italian? 
378 


THE   :MANIPULATI0NS   of   HA3I]VIERLING 

A. — No,  I  am  not;  but  I  used  to  deal  with  these  Italian 
newspapers,  and  we  saw  tlxat  to  get  around  the  Italian  nation 
— you  sec  there  was  not  much  business  to  do  with  the  Italian 
papers,  so  we  changed  it  to  the  association.  .  .  . 

Q. — For  what  purpose  did  you  get  it  [the  advertising 
agency]? 

A. — To  get  advertising  in  the  foreign-language  newspapers. 

Q. — Political  or  business? 

A. — Commercial . 

Q. — Commercial  exclusively? 

A. — No,  sir.  We  took  political  advertising  when  they  gave 
it  to  us. 

Q. — Was  not  that  part  of  your  scheme — to  get  political  as 
well  as  commercial  advertising? 

A. — It  was  not  a  scheme.  Every  advertising  agency  does 
that.  .  .  . 

Q. — You  had  nothing  of  that  kind  in  view? 

A.— No. 

Q. — Where  had  you  resided  prior  to  your  coming  to  New 
York? 

A. — In  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

Q. — What  had  been  your  business  there? 

A. — I  was  connected  with  a  Polish  paper  there  and  handled 
advertising  for  the  United  Mine  Workers'  Journal  and  that 
Polish  paper,  and  I  took  contracts  for  printing. 

Q. — What  induced  you,  or  who  induced  you,  to  go  to  New 
York? 

A. — The  Republican  national  committee. 

Q.— In  1908? 

A. — No,  in  1904.  I  came  to  New  York  in  1904,  and  I 
handled  the  campaign  for  them  with  the  foreign  papers — the 
advertising. 

Q. — At  whose  suggestion  did  you  organize  the  American 
Association  of  Foreign  Language  Newspapers? 

A. — I  made  the  suggestion.  In  May,  1908,  to  be  exact,  I 
decided  with  Mr.  Grilla  to  go  into  the  business  in  New  York, 
and  in  November  we  began  business,  the  first  part  of 
November. 

Q. — Senator  Nelson  asked  you  a  question  as  to  whether 
25  379 


THE  IIVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

this  advertising  agency  had  anything  to  do  with  political 
advertising? 

A. — Why,  before  I  ever  dreamed  of  advertising  I  was 
asked  by  Senator  Quay  and  Senator  Penrose  to  come  down 
and  help  them  handle  this  campaign. 

Q.— That  was  in  1904? 

A —Yes.  .  .  . 

Q. — Did  you  not  return  to  Wilkes-Barre  after  the  1904 
campaign? 

A. — Yes.  ...  I  was  elected  in  1908  again  ...  a  delegate 
to  the  Republican  national  convention. 

Q. — Did  you  have  charge  of  political  advertising  for  the 
Republican  committee  in  1908? 

A. — Yes;  in  some  of  the  foreign-language  papers.  .  .  . 

Q. — When  you  decided  to  launch  this  new  organization, 
what  means  did  you  take  of  bringing  together  the  publishers 
of  the  foreign-language  newspapers? 

A. — I  sent  out  a  circular  letter  with  a  blank  telling  them 
that  if  they  would  subscribe  to  the  preferred  stock  of  the 
association  we  could  build  up  a  great  business.  They  did 
not  need  to  pay  cash,  I  said,  for  one-half  of  the  advertising 
that  we  were  to  place  could  be  used  to  reduce  their  indebted- 
ness for  the  stock  from  one  share  to  four  shares.  Nobody 
had  more  than  that.    The  stock  was  sold  as  preferred  stock. . . . 

Q. — How  much  stock  did  you  have? 

A. — ^Two  hundred  and  ninety  shares  of  the  common  [a 
majority  of  the  common  stock].  .  .  .  There  are  no  publishers 
who  own  the  common  stock. 

Q. — .  .  .  You  started  in  to  do  political  advertising,  did  you 
not? 

A. — Yes.  ...  I  did  in  1912  pohtical  advertising  for  the 
Republicans. 

Q. — How  did  you  manage  the  business?  Did  you  collect 
for  all  the  newspapers?  Did  you  collect  the  fee  for  the  pub- 
lishing of  political  advertisements  for  the  whole  lot?  How 
did  you  distribute  the  money? 

A. — Why,  the  state  committee  submits  a  list  of  papers  to 
the  national  chairman  that  they  want  to  use,  and  the  papers 
have  regular  rates;    they  have  a  rate  card  showing  what 

380 


THE  ]\L\NIPULATIONS  OF  HAMMERLING 

they  charge  for  advertising.  In  1916  they  bought  30,000 
lines  in  the  dailies,  20,000  lines  in  the  semiweeklies,  and 
10,000  lines  in  the  weeklies,  according  to  the  rate  which  was 
paid  ...  in  1912  .  .  .  over  $100,000.  .  .  .  The  Republican 
national  committee  paid  it. 

Q. — Did  you  not  start  this  association  with  a  banquet? 

A. — No.  We  had  the  first  banquet  a  year  after,  in  1909 
...  at  the  Republican  Club  in  New  York  ...  to  celebrate 
the  first  year.  .  .  .  We  always  gave  a  souvenir — a  foimtain 
pen  or  a  pencil — every  year  [to  the  publishers]. 

Q. — Whom  else  did  you  invite  to  attend  the  banquet.'  I 
mean  other  than  publishers. 

A. — I  think  Mr.  Cortelyou  was  one,  the  new  president  of 
the  Consolidated  Gas  Company.  I  really  could  not  remember, 
but  a  good  many  prominent  business  men.  We  invited  them 
so  that  they  could  see  that  we  had  not  any  horns  .  .  .  the 
Standard  Oil  advertising  managers  and  the  American  To- 
bacco Company  .  .  .  one  year  .  .  .  three  or  four  members  of 
the  Cabinet  ...  I  think  in  1911  [were  present]. 

Q. — You  got  these  men  of  prominence,  and  men  who 
occupied  conspicuous  places  in  the  government,  to  attend 
these  banquets,  and  then  capitalized  that  with  the  publish- 
ers of  the  foreign-language  newspapers  over  the  country, 
did  you  not  ...  to  give  you  standing.'' 

A. — I  do  not  know  how  I  capitalized  that.  These  men  in 
public  life  were  very  glad  to  come.  ...  I  had  all  the  standing 
I  wanted  among  them.  I  kept  out  of  the  business  all  of  the 
crooks  in  the  advertising  business,  the  medical  fellows,  and 
the  stock  sellers,  and  all  of  those  people.  .  .  . 

Q. — ^^^lat  were  you  worth  financially  when  you  went  to 
New  York?  .  .  . 

A. — A  couple  of  himdred  thousand  dollars  .  .  .  made  .  .  . 
in  advertising  and  printing. 

Q. — When  did  you  first  secure  large  advertising  contracts 
from  the  Standard  Oil  Company  and  the  American  Tobacco 
Company,  and  some  of  these  concerns? 

A.— About  1909. 

Q. — Immediately  after  the  organization  of  your  company? 

A. — Yes. 

381 


THE  BIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Q. — Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  original  purpose  of  the  organ- 
ization of  the  American  Association  of  Foreign  Language 
Newspapers  was  to  exercise  political  control  over  the  foreign- 
language  publications  of  the  country? 

A. — No.  I  had  about  as  much  political  control  over  them 
[the  foreign-language  publications  of  the  countrj^]  as  the 
Pope  has  in  a  synagogue — if  you  will  permit  the  expression — 
for  the  reason  that  I  would  have  as  much  influence  with  a 
paper  in  Milwaukee  as  I  woidd  with  the  Jewish  Forward  in 
New  York.  It  is  not  a  fair  thing  to  belittle  800  newspapers 
of  great  importance  by  saying  that  I,  through  handling  5  per 
cent  of  the  entire  national  advertising  in  the  United  States, 
would  control  them.  That  is  all  I  handled — about  5  per 
cent.^ 

Hammerling  got  his  start  in  politics.  The  most 
notorious  operations  of  the  American  Association  of 
Foreign  Language  Newspapers  were  in  the  field  of 
political  advertising.  Politicians,  without  having  any 
real  knowledge  of  the  foreign-language  press,  early 
realized  its  potential  influence  in  poUtics.  They  real- 
ized that  it  pays  to  advertise. 

PABTY    POLITICS 

Hammerling,  in  his  testimony  before  the  Senate  com- 
mittee, December  3,  1918,  said  that  he  had  handled 
"over  $100,000"  in  the  Republican  campaign  of  1912. 
It  is  possible  that  this  money  was  used  to  buy  some- 
thing more  than  advertising  space. 

During  the  war,  at  a  time  when  both  men  were  more 
or  less  under  fire  because  of  their  relations,  direct  and 
indirect,  with  the  German  and  Austrian  propaganda  in 
this  country,  Frank  Zotti,  editor  of  the  Croatian  Na- 

^  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  Brewiiig  and 
Liquor  Interests  and  German  and  Bolshevik  Propaganda.  Report  and 
Hearings  of  the  Subcommittee  on  the  Judiciary,  United  States  Sen- 
ate, vol.  i,  pp.  465-472. 

382 


THE  ]VL\NIPULATIONS  OF  HMEVIERLING 

rodni  List,  showed  the  Post  Office  authorities  a  copy  of 
a  political  advertisement  which  Hammerling  had  of- 
fered him  in  1916,  but  which  he  (Zotti)  refused.  Zotti 
is  a  Democrat,    The  copy  of  the  contract  follows: 

NARODNI  LIST  CROATL\N 

Original  Advertising  Order  No.  19,997 

New  York     July  19,  1916         Publisher  of  Narodni  List  (D) 

New  York  City 

Dear  Sir:  Please  insert      Poutical  Advertising 

Space  50  inches  per  insertion 

for  Twice  a  week  Unless  otherwise  ordered 

Beginning  August  1st,  1916. 

Position  to  be  Best  possible 

Remarks : 

Insertions  Are  to  Be  Made  on  Wednesdays  and  Sat- 
urdays from  August  1st,  1916,  to  November  7,  1916.  No 
Insertions  Given  After  November  7th  Will.  Be  Credited. 
Send  regularly  copies  of  the  newspap>ers  containing  the  ad- 
vertisement to  us 

Copy  attached  Cuts  under  separate  cover 

and  charge  our  account  gross,  less 

Net  $1,000.00  net  in  full One-half  of  this  amount  will 

be  paid  September  15,  the  balance  October  15 

The  interesting  thing  about  this  advertising  order 
is  the  rate.  Advertising  in  papers  with  an  average  cir- 
culation of  14,450 — which  is  about  the  circulation  of 
Zotti's  paper  in  1916 — was  worth  forty-four  cents  per 
inch  for  each  insertion.  The  rate  offered  is  seventy -five 
cents  per  inch,  or  nearly  twice  the  regular  price  of  ad- 
vertising in  1916.  This  is  perhaps  an  indication  of 
relative  cost  of  political  as  compared  with  other  forms 
of  advertising.    The  suggestion  is  that  in  this  case,  at 

least,  the  price  of  the  advertisement  was  intended  to 

383 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

buy  something  more  than  "space."  Zotti  exhibited  it 
to  show,  among  other  things,  that  when  it  came  to 
pohtics  and  patriotism  he  was  superior  to  the  influences 
of  money. 

Many  editors  and  pubhshers  of  foreign-language 
papers  are  not  unwilHng  to  sell  their  editorial  opinion. 
Some  of  them  conduct  papers — particularly  the  kind 
of  paper  that  springs  up  just  before  a  contested  election 
— for  no  other  purpose.  It  is  always  a  question,  how- 
ever, whether  it  has  paid  the  political  parties  to  pur- 
chase, even  where  it  is  possible  to  do  so,  the  editorial 
support  of  the  foreign-language  press,  or  any  press  for 
that  matter.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  only  papers 
whose  support  is  worth  anything  are  those  who  give  it 
as  a  matter  of  principle.  There  are  subtler  and  more 
efiFective  ways,  known  to  press  agents  and  professional 
propagandists,  of  influencing  the  public  through  the 
medium  of  the  press. 

THE   ANTI-PROHIBITION   CAMPAIGN 

An  illuminating  exposition  of  the  art  of  propaganda 
was  made  by  Percy  Andrae,  press  agent  of  the  United 
States  Brewers'  Association.  Andrae  was  a  politician 
of  a  new  type.  He  introduced  into  the  campaigns  of 
the  brewers  and  liquor  dealers  unheard-of  methods  for 
creating  and  mobilizing  public  opinion.  He  made  sys- 
tematic surveys  of  opinion,  wet  and  dry,  in  states 
where  the  saloon  had  become  an  issue.  He  organized 
propaganda  on  a  grand  scale  and  Mr.  Hammerling 
helped  him — for  a  price. 

Yet  I  assert,  confidently,  that  in  a  large  majority  of  those 
districts  the  real  sentiment  of  the  voters  is,  in  two  cases  out 
of  three,  in  favor  of  liberal  measm-es.  Sentiment  alone,  how- 
ever, is  useless,  unless  it  knows  how  to  express  itself  at  the 
polls.    And,  in  order  to  impart  that  knowledge  to  the  multi- 

384 


THE  IMANIPULATIONS  OF  HAMMERLING 

tude  of  our  friends,  It  is  first  necessary  that  we  obtain  it  our- 
selves. To  acquire  that  knowledge  and  apply  it  in  practice 
through  your  organization  requires  a  corps  of  trained  experts. 
I  will  accept  no  hearsay  reports.  Every  fact  must  be  ascer- 
tained and  every  personality  investigated  on  the  ground 
itself,  and  in  addition  we  must  have  the  record  of  urban  and 
rural  populations  in  each  district,  showing  the  proportion  of 
the  so-called  foreign  element;  the  character  of  the  saloon 
element,  with  the  names  of  those  fitted  to  lead  and  direct 
the  others  in  election  work;  the  strength  of  the  labor  organi- 
zations and  their  affiliations,  whose  interest  is  enlisted  by  our 
friends  in  the  labor  movement  for  the  sake  of  the  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  our  brothers  whose  livelihood  is  threatened 
by  prohibition.  In  short,  there  is  work  here,  if  it  is  to  be 
done  systematically  and  effectively,  for  a  very  large  staff  of 
capable  and  experienced  men;  and  when  they  have  com- 
pleted it,  and  we  have  dissected  and  tabulated  it,  and  planned 
our  fight  in  each  district  on  the  foundation  it  gives  us,  then 
our  real  work  only  commences,  and  every  organization 
affiliated  with  us,  including  labor  bodies,  liberty  leagues, 
alliances  of  so-called  foreign  citizens,  saloon  keef>ers'  associa- 
tions, and  others,  is  called  upon  to  send  out  its  representa- 
tives who,  with  the  knowledge  imparted  to  them  from  our 
headquarters,  proceed  under  our  direction  to  rally  their 
forces  at  the  polls  and  there  bring  our  labors  to  their  final 
conclusion.  .  ,  . 

If  I  asked  you  to  state  who  are  the  best,  the  strongest,  and 
the  stanchest  friends  our  industry  possesses  in  this  country, 
you  would  give  me  only  one  correct  answer.  They  are  the 
millions  and  millions  of  falsely  described  foreign  citizens,  to 
whom  America  in  reality  owes  as  much  of  her  greatness  to-day 
as  she  does  to  the  descendants  of  her  original  settlers,  and, 
gentlemen,  certainly  a  goodly  portion  of  her  enlightenment 
and  her  intellectual  supremacy.  .  .  .  ^^'hat  keeps  these  ideals, 
that  love  of  liberty,  that  independent  spirit,  and  that  hatred 
of  hj^pocritical  pretense,  alive  in  these  people?  One  thing, 
and  one  only :  the  language  in  which  they  learned  to  formu- 
late their  views  of  life  and  their  ideals  of  manhood  and  citi- 
zenship.   WTiat  b  the  main  influence  that  keeps  that  language 

385 


THE  IIVEMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

alive  in  our  country,  and  transmits  it  from  generation  to 
generation?    It  is  the  foreign  press. 

Gentlemen,  I  tell  you  that  the  death  of  every  foreign  news- 
paper in  this  country,  with  few  solitary  exceptions,  means 
the  removal  of  a  stone  in  the  foundation  upon  which  our 
industry  is  based.  And  how  many  of  them  are  gradually  going 
under,  not  for  lack  of  readers,  but  for  lack  of  those  means  which 
every  newspaper  requires  m  order  to  maintain  and  increase 
its  circulation — the  income  from  its  advertising  columns.'* 

Don't  starve  the  foreign  press,  but  feed  it,  help  it,  support 
it,  wherever  you  find  it  and  however  small  you  find  it,  to  the 
very  utmost  limit  of  your  means  and  powers.  I  am  not  ask- 
ing this  of  you  as  a  sacrifice,  because  it  is  no  sacrifice.  You 
will  profit  by  it  twofold.  For  doesn't  a  man  seek  such  channels 
of  advertisement  as  reach  those  who  are  likely  to  buy  his 
product,  rather  than  those  who  are  not  likely  to  buy  it.^* 
Advertising  is  paid  for  in  exact  proportion  to  the  circulation 
of  the  advertising  medium.  \Vhen  you  advertise  in  an  Eng- 
lish paper,  you  reach  a  reading  public  of  which  probably  only 
50  or  60  per  cent  are  ever  likely  to  respond  to  your  adver- 
tisement. When  you  advertise  in  a  foreign-language  paper, 
you  reach  a  reading  public  of  which  nearly  100  per  cent  are 
likely  purchasers  of  your  product.  In  the  one  case  you  get 
fifty  or  sixty  cents  on  the  dollar  invested  as  a  return.  In 
the  other  you  get  one  hundred  cents.  Is  there  a  question  of 
which  is  best  as  a  mere  business  proposition .''  ^ 

He  organized,  as  a  subsidiary  of  the  Brewers'  Asso- 
ciation, the  National  Association  of  Commerce  and 
Labor,  composed  of  representatives  of  industries 
directly  or  indirectly  dependent  upon  the  brewing  in- 
dustries. It  was  from  the  funds  of  this  organization 
that  the  American  Association  of  Foreign  Language 
Newspapers  was  paid  for  its  services. 

Andrae  spent,  in  the  three  years  in  which  he  was  in 

^  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  Breidng  and 
Liquor  Interests  and  German  and  Bolshevik  Propaganda,  Report  and 
Hearings  of  the  Subcommittee  on  the  Judiciary,  United  States  Senate, 
vol.  i,  p.  953.     Quoted  remarks  of  Percy  Andrae. 

S86 


THE  ]SL\xiPUL.\Tioxs  OF  ha:m:merling 

the  service  of  the  Brewers'  Association,  a  Uttle  over 
$800,000,  Of  this  sum  it  has  been  estimated  that  Ham- 
merhng  got  about  $200,000.  ]\Iost  of  this  was  for  the 
personal  services  of  Mr.  Hammerhng  and  the  associa- 
tion. The  only  advertising  contracts  to  which  refer- 
ence is  made  in  the  very  complete  reports  of  the  Senate 
committee  is  one  for  $10,000  for  120  inches,  one  in- 
sertion in  68  papers  covering  a  period  of  five  months, 
and  several  minor  contracts  amounting  to  $1,644,  with 
small  papers  in  Cleveland,  Toledo,  and  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  for  advertising  "home  rule  in  Lucas  County" 
and  elsewhere. 

Most  of  the  large  sums  spent  with  the  association 
were  for  translating  into  twenty-seven  languages,  twice 
a  month,  a  single  article  of  1,000  words.  These  articles 
were  written  by  Andrae,  signed  by  Hammerling,  and 
published  in  the  Leader.  This  paper  was  a  sort  of 
house  organ  and  advertising  sheet  for  the  association, 
but  Hammerling  knew  how  to  make  others  pay  even 
for  this.  He  charged  the  brewers  for  translating  and 
sending  out  this  article  $1,400  a  month.  He  charged 
them  office  rent  for  the  translators,  for  type'WTiters  to 
copy  it,  for  dictionaries  to  read  it,  and  he  charged  them 
something  like  $8,000  a  year  for  subscriptions  to  the 
Leader,  in  which  the  article  was  printed.  He  even 
charged  them  one  year — and  Hammerling  was  a  Jew — 
$2,518  for  Christmas  presents  for  his  office  force. 

For  sending  the  Leader  with  Andrae's  articles  on 
personal  liberty,  Hammerling  rendered  the  following 
bill  in  1915: 

624  rabbis $    936 

2,002  priests 3,003 

1,700  ministers 2.550 

1,358  German  and  French  papers 2,032 

206  Polish  sokols 309 

$8,830 
387 


THE  ESIiMIGRiVXT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Meanwhile  the  foreign-language  papers,  to  whom 
Hammerling  had  become  almost  indispensable,  printed 
the  "personal  liberty"  articles  without  any  recom- 
pense— at  least  Hammerling  says  they  did.  Many  of 
them  were,  no  doubt,  glad  to  get  them.  The  articles 
expressed  their  wishes  and  spared  them  the  effort  of 
composition.  Hammerling  testified  before  the  Senate 
committee  that  about  half  the  papers  printed  the 
articles  sent  them.  If  this  is  true,  the  American  Asso- 
ciation of  Foreign  Language  Newspapers  was  able  to 
function,  in  this  instance  at  least,  as  a  press  bureau 
rather  than  as  an  advertising  agency.  The  difference 
is  that  an  advertising  agency  pays  for  newspaper  space, 
a  press  bureau  does  not. 

Among  the  other  services  for  which  Hammerling  sub- 
mitted bills  to  the  so-called  National  Association  of 
Commerce  and  Labor  was  one  for  $1,231.92  for  tele- 
grams to  96  Senators  and  435  Congressmen  at  $2.32 
each.    The  telegram  is  as  follows: 

The  American  Association  of  Foreign  Language  News- 
papers, with  a  circulation  of  over  7,000,000,  reaching  20,000,- 
000  citizens,  protests  emphatically  on  behalf  of  the  overwhelm- 
ing majority  of  those  citizens  against  Hobson,  the  resolution 
providing  for  national  prohibition.  Our  people  consider 
same  unwarranted  interference  with  rights  guaranteed  them 
under  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  will  resent  the  passage 
of  the  resolution,  which  is  designed  to  destroy  their  most 
cherished  customs  and  deprive  citizens  generally  of  the  in- 
dividual liberty  which  is  as  dear  to  them  as  life  itself.  Almost 
entire  foreign-language  press  has  for  the  past  three  months 
voiced  this  sentiment  in  strongest  possible  terms  and  with 
full  conciuTence  of  its  millions  of  readers.^ 

Another  statement  of  account  is  as  follows: 


*  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  6£,  vol.  i,  p.  i93. 
388 


THE  ^lANIPULATlONS  OF  HAMMERLING 

New  York,  September  21,  1914. 
Mr.  Percy  Andrae,  S357  S.  Michigan  Avenue,   Chicago,   Illinois. 
To  the  American  Leader,  Dr.,  published  by  the  American  As- 
sociation of  Foreign  Language  Newspapers,  Inc.,  912-£6  Wool- 
worth  Building. 
To   accommodations   for  L.   N.   Hammerling  and   E.   H. 
Jaudon  at  .Statler  Hotel,  from  September  18th  to  Sep- 
tember 20th,  inclusive,  as  per  hotel  statement  attached, 

and  expenses  for  L.  N.  Hammerling $194.64 

To  drinks  and  cigars  at  Bohemian  Club 30.00 

To  taxicabs 15.00 

To  telegrams 4 .  90 

To  long-distance  telephone  calls  to  different  parts  of  Ohio ....       9 .  80 

To  tips,  including  those  at  publishers'  luncheon 22.00 

To  drinks  with  publishers  after  luncheon 10.00 

To  Sunday  automobile — luncheon  with  six  priests  and  four 

publishers 53 .  00 

Total $339 .  34 

At  a  meeting  of  the  United  States  Brewers'  Associa- 
tion, October  15,  1915,  Percy  Andrae,  the  press  agent 
of  the  Brewers'  Association  and  president  of  the  Na- 
tional Association  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  in  explain- 
ing the  services  which  Hammerling  and  his  associates 
had  rendered  the  cause,  spoke  a  httle  incoherently,  but 
the  drift  of  his  remarks  is  clear  enough.     He  said: 

Now,  let  me  give  you  one  single  illustration.  Now,  in 
Cleveland,  at  this  date,  just  as  it  was  done  a  year  ago 
through  the  instrumentality  of  that  press  and  the  people 
who  surround  it — and  the  people  who  surround  it,  gentlemen, 
do  not  work  for  nothing — we  have  schools — you  can  go  to 
Cleveland  to-day  and  I  can  take  you  around  in  Cleveland 
from  locality  to  locality  where  there  are  schools,  and  in  a 
great  many  instances  the  priests  of  the  foreign  elements  are 
there  before  the  blackboard  showing  the  voters,  and  in  a 
great  many  cases  the  leaders  are  the  spiritual  advisers.  For 
instance,  I  will  give  you  one  instance  when,  three  or  four 
weeks  ago,  Mr.  Hammerling  was  in  Cleveland.  The  president 
of  this  association,  a  man  whom  they  worship  throughout 

389 


THE  EVIMIGRAXT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

tlie  country  because  he  has  done  so  much  for  them,  had  the 
clergy  of  this  city  belonging  to  this  element  come  together, 
and  he  laid  out  the  policy  to  be  pursued  in  their  churches, 
in  their  congregations,  in  their  schools,  and  the  necessary 
instruction  is  being  given  day  and  night.  That  can  be  done 
everywhere.  It  has  been  done  in  Youngstown,  ia  Toledo 
and  wherever  this  press  is.* 

GERMAN  PROPAGANDA 

Hammerling's  dealings  with  the  German  propaganda 
in  this  country  were  on  a  still  larger  scale.  It  is  likely 
that  he  succeeded  in  getting  the  larger  share  of  the 
money  that  was  expended  by  the  German  and  Austrian 
governments  to  influence  the  foreign-language  press  in 
the  United  States. 

His  greatest  coup  was  the  publication,  April  5,  1915, 
in  all  the  important  English  daily  papers,  of  "  An  Ap- 
peal to  the  American  People"  to  stop,  in  the  name  of 
humanity,  the  manufacture  and  shipment  to  Europe 
of  munitions  of  war.  The  appeal  was  signed,  or  pur- 
ported to  be  signed,  by  450  publishers  of  foreign- 
language  papers.  For  this  Hammerling  received  $204,- 
900.  He  was  able  to  account  for  $48,138,  which  he 
says  was  paid  to  the  John  E.  Mahan  Advertising 
Agency,  which  placed  the  advertisement  with  the  Eng- 
lish papers.  The  money  was  paid  in  cash  by  Dr. 
Heinrich  Albert,  the  German  agent  in  the  United 
States,  through  Doctor  Rumely.  There  was  some  diffi- 
culty about  the  final  payment.  Albert  seems  to  have 
insisted  on  vouchers  for  all  the  money  expended,  and 
visited  Hammerling  in  his  home  before  the  last  check 
for  $4,900  was  paid.    Hammerling  says  that  when  he 

*  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  vol.  i,  p.  1194. 
Minutes  of  an  executive  session  of  the  United  States  Brewers'  Asso- 
ciation, held  at  the  Hotel  Kimball,  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
Friday,  October  15,  1915,  at  11  a.m. 

390 


THE  ]\L\NIPULATIONS  OF  HAJVESIERLING 

attempted  to  cash  this  check  the  bank  reported  that 
there  were  no  funds  to  meet  it.  "I  finally  went  over  to 
see  the  man  Albert,  and  had  it  out  with  him,  and 
finally  got  the  money  from  Rumely." 

Dr.  Edward  A.  Rumely  had  negotiated  with  Ham- 
merling  in  regard  to  an  appeal  in  the  foreign-language 
press.  Hammerling  testified,  however,  that  at  his 
(Hammerling)  suggestion  it  was  determined  to  pub- 
lish the  appeal  in  the  English  press. 

On  the  day  of  publication  (April  6, 1915)  Hammerling 
is  quoted  in  the  New  York  Times  as  having  made  this 
statement: 

I  accept  full  responsibility  for  it.  No  German  propagandist 
or  German  interest  whatever  is  concerned  in  it.  The  money 
was  contributed  through  a  campaign  I  started  on  August 
14th  last.  Individuals,  societies,  churches,  and  other  organi- 
zations gave  to  the  fund.' 

Hammerling  denied  the  interview  in  his  testimony 
before  the  Senate  committee,  but  Hammerling  was 
often  quite  reckless  in  his  denials.  He  even  denied  that 
he  knew  that  this  appeal  was  in  the  interest  of  the 
Germans  or  that  he  was  getting  paid  from  German 
sources. 

In  his  testimony  before  the  Senate  committee  Ham- 
merling explained  that  the  "  Appeal  to  Humanity  "  was 
an  advertisement.  "I  wanted  the  advertisement. 
Times  were  hard  and  I  thought  it  good  business  to 
get  it." 

HAMMERLING 'S   POWER 

Besides  these  political  and  semipolitical  activities,  Mr. 
Hammerling  and  the  association  did  a  great  deal  of 
work  for  manufacturers  and  employers  of  labor,  settling 

^  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  vol.  i,  p.  552. 
391 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

strikes  and  dealing  with  labor  troubles.  Through  his 
connection  with  the  editors  of  the  foreign-language 
papers  he  was  in  a  position  at  once  to  advise  employers 
and  to  act,  directly  and  indirectly,  as  a  mediator 
between  them  and  their  employees.  For  this  sort  of 
service,  it  is  said,  he  shrewdly  refused  any  remunera- 
tion. Yet  it  was  this  personal  service,  rendered  at 
critical  periods  during  an  election  or  a  strike,  that  gave 
him  prestige  with  the  brewers  and  other  big  national 
advertisers.  It  put  him  into  confidential  relations  with 
big  business  men,  and  not  only  enabled  him  to  get 
advertising  for  the  foreign-language  papers,  but  per- 
mitted him  to  dispose  of  the  advertising  funds  intrusted 
to  him  pretty  much  as  he  saw  fit. 

No  one  pretended  to  know  the  value  of  advertising 
in  the  foreign-language  papers  outside  of  the  German 
and  Scandinavian  papers.  The  result  was  that  Ham- 
merling  could  give  advertising  or  he  could  take  it  away. 
He  could  promise  the  struggling  little  publisher  that  he 
would  either  make  him  or  break  him,  and  experience 
*^eemed  to  prove  that  he  was  able  to  keep  his  word.  In 
this  way,  at  any  rate,  all  the  advertising  the  American 
Association  of  Foreign  Language  Newspapers  handled 
tended  to  enhance  Hammerling's  prestige  and  increase 
his  personal  influence.  In  time  he  secured  an  almost 
complete  monopoly  of  advertising  in  the  foreign-lan- 
guage papers.  The  efforts  of  smaller  agencies  to  com- 
pete with  the  association  almost  always  failed,  and 
Hammerhng  was  able  to  mediatize  them,  so  to  speak — 
that  is,  compel  them  to  come  into  his  organization, 
where  they  held  the  position  of  vice-presidents,  but 
were,  in  fact,  mere  clerks  and  advertising  soUcitors. 

He  gained,  within  a  few  years,  such  an  ascendancy 
over  editors  and  publishers  that  the  men  to  whom  he 
sold  his  services — politicians,  business  men,  brewers, 
and  distillers,  and  the  German  government — seemed 

392 


THE  MANIPULATIONS  OF  HAMIVIERLING 

to  have  gained  the  impression  that  his  control  of  the 
foreign-language  press  was  absolute. 

THE   ASSOCIATION   AT    WORK 

The  testimony  of  Arthur  Gabriel,  one  of  the  officers  of 
the  American  Association  of  Foreign  Language  News- 
papers, throws  a  good  deal  of  light  on  the  functioning 
of  the  association,  not  only  from  what  Mr.  Gabriel 
tells,  but  from  what  he  was  unable  to  tell.  Gabriel 
was  connected  with  Hammerling's  agency  from  1909 
to  1917.  During  this  period  he  served  in  every  ca- 
pacity from  office  boy  to  vice-president.  Like  other 
vice-presidents  of  the  association  he  was,  in  fact,  merely 
an  advertising  solicitor.  "The  main  reason  why  Mr. 
Hammerling  gave  us  titles,"  Mr.  Gabriel  testified, 
"was,  as  he  explained  to  us,  to  raise  our  standing,  so 
that  if  we  went  to  see  Mr.  Lorillard,  of  the  P.  Loril- 
lard  company,  he  would  know  that  he  was  talking  to  a 
vice-president." 

Gabriel  was  vice-president  from  1914  to  1917,  but 
he  seems  to  have  known  very  little  about  the  business. 
Although  Hammerling  was  popularly  supposed  to  be 
president  of  a  semipubhc  organization,  the  nature, 
methods,  and  earnings  of  the  business  were  a  secret 
that  Hammerling  shared  only  with  his  private  secre- 
tary, Bertha  W.  Leffler.  The  books  of  the  association 
were  destroyed  annually.  He  signed  the  minutes  of 
the  corporation,  but  he  did  not  know  what  they 
contained. 

TESTIMONY   OF  MR.   ARTHUR   GABRIEL 

Question. — Will  you  tell  us  what  the  nature  of  the  corpora- 
tion, the  American  Association  of  Foreign  Language  News- 
papers, was — what  it  was  composed  of,  and  what  its  purposes 
and  activities  were? 

S93 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Answer. — Well,  as  far  as  I  know,  during  my  connection 
their  purpose  was  simply  to  solicit  advertising  from  the 
various  large  corporations  in  the  country,  and  to  take  action 
on  any  matters  pertaining  to  foreigners,  such  as  any  legisla- 
tive matter  that  may  come  up  before  the  Senate  or  Congress 
of  the  United  States;  to  co-operate  in  every  which  way  with 
the  advertiser  in  regard  to  his  products — like,  for  instance, 
some  states  were  voting  against  the  cigarette  bill,  or  to  stop 
the  sale  of  cigarettes  or  snuff;  to  go  down  to  those  states 
and  help  these  cigarette  and  tobacco  companies  to  have  that 
bill  defeated;  practically  to  help  the  advertiser  in  every 
which  way.  For  instance,  if  a  strike  would  occur  with  some 
concern  like  the  Standard  Oil  Company. 

Q. — Was  that  handled  through  the  foreign -language  news- 
papers in  the  locality  where  the  legislation  was  pending? 

A.— Yes. 

Q. — Or  where  the  labor  difficulty  existed? 

A. — Yes;  going  to  that  locality. 

Q. — And  the  foreign-language  newspapers  were  used  as  the 
vehicle  for  propaganda  work  and  for  opposing  legislation  that 
was  detrimental  to  the  advertising? 

A. — Yes,  Major.  .  .  . 

Q. — Was  any  effort  made  to  promote  the  interests  of  ad- 
vertisers through  the  influence  of  charitable  or  beneficial 
organizations? 

A. — Not  tliat  I  remember. 

Q. — There  have  been  some  bills  from  the  association  offered 
in  evidence  here,  showing  dinners  that  were  given  and  ban- 
quets that  were  given  to  priests  and  others  at  various  times. 

A. — The  only  banquet  I  remember  given  to  a  priest  was 
at  the  Plaza  Hotel.  That  was  in  1916, 1  believe  in  November, 
to  the  Monsignor  Jelatsky.  He  was  just  then  given  the  mon- 
signorship  by  Cardmal  Farley.  At  that  dinner  Cardinal 
Farley  was  present  and,  of  course,  some  of  the  priests,  and 
Doctor  Rumely  and  Mr.  Hammerling  and  myself.  That 
was  the  only  dinner  I  ever  attended  where  priests  were 
present.  .  .  . 

Q. — Now,  will  you  state  if  at  any  time  you  saw  Ambassador 
von  Bemstorff  come  to  Mr.  Hammerling's  office? 

39i 


THE  ^L\NIPULATIONS  OF  HAMMERLESG 

A. — I  saw  Von  BemstorflF  at  Hammerling's  oflSce  sometime 
in  March,  I  believe,  of  1915.  .  .  . 

Q. — Was  Mr.  HammerlLng  in  the  office  then.'' 

A. — There  was  a  long  private  hall,  and  there  were  three 
private  offices,  the  doors  from  which  led  on  to  this  hall,  and 
down  at  the  right  of  this  hall  was  Mr.  Hammerling's  office. 
My  office  was  the  center  office,  and  I  happened  to  come  out 
into  that  private  hall  and  I  remember  seeing  Von  BemstorfF. 
I  recognized  him  instantly,  because  he  had  this  long  coat 
with  a  Persian-lamb  collar,  I  think  it  is,  and  he  had  his  hat 
off  and  had  just  stepped  into  Mr.  Hammerling's  office. 

Q. — Mr.  Hammerling's  private  office? 

A. — His  private  office.  After  that  I  did  not  see  him  any 
more. 

Q. — How  long  was  he  there,  so  far  as  you  know? 

A. — That  I  do  not  know,  Senator,  because  from  Mr.  Ham- 
merling's private  office  there  was  an  exit  to  the  hall. 

Q. — State  how  long  after  that  it  was  the  activities  with 
regard  to  tliis  appeal  [the  appeal  of  the  foreign-language 
editors  to  the  United  States  to  stop  the  shipment  of  muni- 
tions to  the  AUies]  commenced? 

A. — The  activities  started  sometime  in  March,  toward  the 
end  of  March.  It  was  perhaps  two  weeks  before  the  appeal 
appeared. 

Q. — Tell  us  what  you  know  about  that  appeal  and  any 
conversation  that  you  may  have  had  with  j\lr.  Hammerling 
relative  to  that.  .  .  . 

A. — Before  the  advertising  appeal  came  out  I  was  called 
into  Mr.  Hammerling's  private  office — I  believe  it  was  on  a 
Friday  evening.  He  called  me  in  alone,  and  Miss  Leffler  was 
present  there,  and  he  said:  "Arthur,  I  want  you  to  take  your 
wife  and  take  her  to  Bethlehem,  give  her  a  good  time,  and 
spare  no  expense;  take  a  private  car  if  necessary.  Go  there 
and  find  the  percentage  of  foreigners  working  in  the  munition 
plants  up  there.  Go  to  saloons,  go  to  head<iuarters,  and  go 
to  the  priests  and  rabbis  if  necessary,  and  bring  me  back  the 
data  there  whether  they  are  satisfied  with  the  working  con- 
ditions, the  average  earning,  what  they  are  earning  per  week, 
and  bring  that  data  back."  I  did  not  leave  the  next  day — 
26  395 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

I  was  supposed  to  leave  the  next  day,  but  the  next  day  was 
Saturday — but  I  left  on  Sunday  morning,  and  instead  of 
taking  my  wife  I  went  to  a  college  friend  of  mine,  Doctor 
Davidson,  and  I  said,  "Ralph,  I  am  going  to  South  Bethle- 
hem, and  I  have  got  the  money  and  will  pay  all  expenses, 
and  you  come  along  with  me."  The  two  of  us  went  to  South 
Bethlehem,  and  we  stayed  at  the  Eagle  Hotel  up  there,  and 
got  the  information.  He  went  to  the  Italian  priests  and  spoke 
with  them  and  got  the  data  on  the  percentage  of  Italians 
there.  We  finally  brought  the  data  back  as  to  how  many 
people  there  were  and  whether  they  were  satisfied  with  con- 
ditions; but  we  were  instructed  not  to  go  near  the  munition 
plant.  So  that  I  believe  that  I  got  back  Wednesday  of  that 
week;  and  all  of  us  boys  that  were  sent  on  this  trip.  .  .  . 

Q. — Were  there  others  sent  at  the  same  time.'* 

A. — Oh,  yes;  there  was  a  Mr.  Dattner  who  was  sent  to 
Bridgeport,  Mr.  G.  H.  Berg  was  sent  through  the  New  Eng- 
land states,  Mr.  Momand  was  sent  to  Brooklyn,  Mr.  Leon 
Wazeter  was  sent  somewhere  in  Philadelphia,  I  believe,  and 
Henry  Gabriel  was  sent  to  Utica. 

So  that  when  we  came  back  we  all  met.  Mr.  Hammerling 
happened  to  be  away  for  a  few  days,  and  we  all  met  in  the 
Woolworth  in  the  Rathskeller  and  compared  our  expense  ac- 
counts, so  that  one  man  who  had  a  shorter  trip  would  not 
charge  more  than  one  who  had  a  longer  trip,  and  then  we 
submitted  a  bill.  In  fact,  when  I  presented  the  bill  to  Mr, 
Hammerling,  he  said  to  me,  "Is  that  all  you  spent?"  So 
that  then  after  that  we  each  had  a  written  report  as  to  the 
percentage  and  signed  our  names. 

Then  after  that  the  copy  was  being  prepared  in  the  private 
oflSce  of  Mr.  Hammerling. 

Q.— What  copy? 

A. — Of  his  appeal  to  the  Americans.  That  w^as  prepared 
in  Mr.  Hammerling's  oflSce  by  Mr.  Momand  and  himself,  and 
no  one  knew  in  the  office  what  was  going  on  in  there. 

Q. — Do  you  know  whether  Mr.  Rumely  had  any  part  in 
the  preparation  of  it? 

A. — Doctor  Rumely  was  quite  frequently  there,  but  at  the 
time  while  this  was  going  on  in  the  private  office  it  was 

396 


THE  IVIANIPULATIONS  OF  HAIMMERLIXG 

mostly  Mr.  Hammerling,  Mr,  Momand,  and  Mr.  Rankin  of 
the  Rankin  agency  to-day;  and  I  happened  to  go  after  that 
to  the  Empire  City  Electrical  Company,  and  happened  to 
see  a  copy  of  the  appeal,  which  the  Empire  company  was 
making,  so  that  naturally  I  read  tlie  appeal,  and  when  I  got 
to  my  office  G.  H.  Berkel  happened  to  come  in  there — in 
fact,  he  had  his  desk  in  my  office  also — and  my  brother  was 
there,  packing  electrotypes,  and  he  came  in  my  office  and 
said  he  heard  on  the  street  that  Hammerling  was  being 
paid  by  the  Austro-German  government.  With  this  informa- 
tion he  goes  in  to  Hammerling.  Hammerling  then  calls  me 
on  the  wire — an  extension  wire — and  asks  me  do  I  know  a 
man  named  Dresiecksi.  I  told  him  yes,  because  he  was  the 
publisher  of  the  Polish  pictorial  weekly,  the  Krij,  which 
means  in  English  "country."  He  told  me  that  it  was  charged 
that  he  was  receiving  German  money.  I  told  him  across  the 
wire,  "Why,  Mr.  Hammerling,  it  is  an  open  secret  among 
the  Poles  in  New  York  that  you  are  supplied  by  the  Austro- 
German  government." 

Then  about  ten  minutes  later  Mr.  Hammerling  came  to 
my  office  with  his  hat  and  coat  on,  and  beckoned  for  me  to 
come  into  his  private  office,  which  I  did,  and  there  were  Miss 
Leffler,  Mr.  Hammerling,  and  myself  alone.  Then  he  spoke 
of  this,  and  said  what  do  I  know  about  it.  I  said:  "That 
is  all  I  know.  That  is  all  I  hear  among  the  Polish  people 
here  in  New  York,  that  you  are  being  paid  by  the  Austro- 
German  government."  With  that,  he  turns  to  Miss  Leffler 
and  asks  did  she  say  anjiihing  to  her  sister  Margaret. 

Q. — Margaret  was  also  an  employee  there? 

A. — She  was  also  an  employee  there.  She  was  a  sister  ol 
Bertha.  She  says,  "No."  With  that,  Hammerling  turns  to 
me  and  says:  "A  thur,  whatever  you  know,  keep  your  mouth 
shut.  Whatever  people  do  not  know  will  not  hurt  them." 
Then  I  sat  for  a  while  with  Bertha  Leffler  talking,  and  I  says, 
"Isn't  it  true?"  She  would  not  admit  or  deny  it.  So  that 
at  the  end  of  that  week — I  don't  know  whether  it  was  that 
week,  but  I  know  the  next  pay  day  it  was — I  received  in  my 
envelope,  I  can't  say  whether  it  was  $500  or  $1,000  as  a  bonus. 
Li  fact,  everybody  in  the  office,  from  the  office  boy  up,  re- 

397 


THE  BmiGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

ceived  some  sort  of  a  gift  at  that  time.    That  is  all  I  remem- 
ber about  the  appeal. 

Q. — You  got  $500  extra. 

A. — I  really  do  not  know,  Senator,  whether  it  was  $500  or 
$1,000,  because  I  was  getting  money  every  month  or  every 
second  month,  I  didn't  know  what  for.  At  Christmas  time  I 
got  as  high  as  $2,000;  and  when  my  girl  was  born  Hammerling 
paid  the  bills  without  my  asking  him,  so  that  I  do  not  know 
what  I  got  the  money  for  that  time. 

Q. — Did  you  suppose  you  were  getting  the  advertisers' 
money? 

A. — No;  I  supposed  I  got  the  money  to  keep  my  mouth 
shut.  .  .  . 

Q. — Will  you  state  just  how  Mr.  Hammerling  or  this  asso- 
ciation conducted  its  business  with  the  foreign-language 
newspapers  .f* 

A. — Well,  for  instance,  there  would  be  an  advertisement; 
I  would  be,  for  instance,  sent  to  see  the  P.  Lorillard  company, 
and  they  wanted  to  advertise  the  Zyra  cigarettes,  and  I  would 
come  back,  and  Mr.  Hammerling  and  myself,  as  a  rule,  would 
choose  the  papers,  what  papers  would  receive  the  advertis- 
ing, and  how  much  they  were  to  receive.  Sometimes  the 
papers  were  given  according  to  rate  cards,  like  the  Scandi- 
navian— the  Scandinavian  we  had  to  strictly  abide  by  the 
rates — but  some  of  the  Polack  papers,  for  instance,  you 
would  pay  them  anything.  Say  you  paid  them  20  per  cent, 
they  would  take  it.  We  would  give  them  an  amount  and  then 
submit  this  amount  to  the  client,  and  then  we  would  get  an 
O.K.  on  the  copy  and  on  the  list,  because  the  average  Ameri- 
can advertiser,  it  is  my  experience  with  tlie  foreign  press,  did 
not  know  practically  anything  about  the  foreign  press — that 
is  to  say,  the  value  of  each  individual  publication.  I  could 
go  up  to  the  Standard  Oil  Company  people  and  tell  them  that 
this  paper  in  Bridgeport  was  a  better  paper  than  any  in  New 
York,  and  they  would  take  my  word  for  it;  but  they  did  not 
know  the  value  of  the  publication  or  what  its  reputation  was; 
so  that  whatever  our  pay  was  would  be  O.K.,  and  it  would  be 
shipped  to  the  newspapers  and  they  would  pay  the  bUl 
accordingly. 

398 


THE  ]VL\NIPULAT10NS  OF  HA]VrVIERLING 

Q. — You  would  make  30  or  40  cents  an  inch  and  put  in 
for  20  cents? 

A. — We  used  to  get  as  high  as  $1.50  an  inch  and  give  a 
quarter.    It  all  depends  on  what  the  people  would  take. 

Q. — In  other  words,  instead  of  doing  business  on  a  given 
basis,  you  charged  the  advertiser  as  much  as  you  could  and 
paid  the  newspapers  as  little  as  you  could.'* 

A. — It  all  depended  on  the  advertiser.  If  the  advertiser 
was  easy,  we  would  figure  the  estimate  accordingly.  If  the 
advertiser  sometimes  would  pass  his  advertising  through  an 
American  agency,  and  then  they  would  begin  to  ask  us  to 
give  them  sworn  statements  as  to  circulation  and  go  into  the 
details  of  the  publication,  then  perhaps  he  would  come  down 
even  to  10  per  cent,  and  many  a  time  we  took  the  business 
at  a  loss  just  to  get  the  business.  It  all  depended  on  who  the 
advertiser  was. 

Q. — Did  you  ever  find  out  from  Mr.  Hammerling,  in  the 
regular  conduct  of  the  business,  about  the  advertising  of  this 
appeal  and  the  amount  received  for  that  advertisement 
and  the  amount  paid  to  the  several  newspapers? 

A. — I  never  did.  That  was  kept  secret  right  in  that  room, 
as  I  said  before.    I  did  not  know  anything  about  it.' 

Frank  Zotti,  editor  of  the  Narodni  List,  who  seems 
to  have  done  more  than  anyone  else  to  bring  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Hammerling  association  into  public  view, 
is  undoubtedly  a  biased  witness;  but  part  of  his  tes- 
timony before  the  Senate  committee,  while  it  adds  no 
new  facts,  makes  the  nature  of  the  influence  which  the 
association  exercised  over  the  foreign-language  press 
more  intelligible.  In  answer  to  the  question  of  Major 
Humes  of  the  Senate  committee,  "How  was  the  asso- 
ciation organized.'"  Zotti  said: 

It  was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  getting  political  adver- 
tising mostly,  and  through  the  influence  of  this  political  ad- 
vertisement to  secure  patronage  of  large  corporations,  and 

^  Sixty-stxth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  vol.  i,  pp.  G25-6S2. 
399 


THE  IMJMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

through  that  patronage  to  subdue  or  at  least  control  these 
smaller  newspapers  that  were  barely  making  an  existence; 
and  eventually  to  put  Mr.  Hammerling  in  the  position  of  a 
dictator  to  the  foreign-language  press.  .  .  .  The  first  gather- 
ing was  at  the  Republican  Club,  when  the  first  banquet  was 
given.  ...  It  was  not  what  I  would  call  a  success  compared 
with  the  other  subsequent  gatherings,  but  it  was  a  sort  of  an 
initial  introduction.  .  .  .  Mr.  George  B.  Cortelyou  was  the 
man  [of  prominence]  at  that  banquet,  and  there  were  a  few 
members  of  the  Cabinet  at  that  time.  .  .  .  ]VIr.  Hammerling 
presided.  .  .  .  He  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Cortelyou  as  the 
"president  of  the  American  Association  of  Foreign  Language 
Newspapers  duly  elected  by  this  great  body  of  foreign-lan- 
guage publications."  Mr.  Cortelyou  may  have  been  very 
sincere  in  the  matter.  On  the  other  hand,  from  a  political 
standpoint,  it  may  happen  to  both  parties,  where  a  man  of 
his  caliber  was  a  good  business  proposition,  to  show  to  his 
party  that  he  had  a  man  like  Hammerling,  president  of  an 
organization  of  500  or  GOO  foreign  newspapers,  and  able  to 
deliver  the  goods  at  any  time — to  serve  the  purpose  for  his 
own  ends.  .  ,  .  There  were  quite  a  few  advertising  representa- 
tives of  big  corporations  present.  ...  I  believe  the  Standard 
Oil  Company  was  represented,  the  Telephone  Company,  the 
American  Tobacco  Company,  and  a  few  others.  The  second 
banquet  was  really  the  debut.  .  .  .  The  next  year,  at  the 
Knickerbocker,  in  1910.  There  Mr.  Cortelyou  was  even 
more  pronounced  in  his  eulogy  of  Louis  N.  Hammerling. 
The  banquet  was  a  real  success.  The  presents  advertised 
before  the  banquet,  to  be  distributed  to  Ihe  giiests,  were  to 
cost  $15  or  $20.  Each  man  that  came  to  the  banquet  would 
get  a  present  of  a  match  box  of  gold,  like  this  [indicating], 
and  a  cigar  cutter  and  knife,  and  besides  that  his  dinner; 
and  we  were  told  that  the  entire  Cabinet  of  the  United  States, 
including  the  good  soul  Mr.  Taft,  would  be  there,  and  that 
from  that  time  on  no  publisher  of  a  foreign-language  news- 
paper need  go  out  to  borrow  any  money  from  the  banks  to 
exist,  because  it  would  come  from  all  sources.  ...  I  remember 
distinctly  that  Senator  Penrose  eulogized  Mr.  Hammerling, 
and  my  friends  Congressmen  Goldfogle  and  Bennet;    and, 

400 


THE  IVLVNIPULATIONS  OF  HAMMERLING 

the  fact  was,  it  was  understood  at  that  time,  or  at  least  I 
understood  it,  that  all  these  big  corporations  would  open 
their  coffers,  and  that  Mr.  Hammerling's  patronage  would 
amount  to  millions  of  dollars.  ...  It  was  the  easiest  matter 
in  the  world  to  present  the  case;  to  say:  "Here  is  Hammer- 
ling  sitting  in  the  middle,  with  the  Cabinet  of  the  United 
States  alongside  him,  and  the  Attorney-General  eulogizing 
him.  The  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  open  our  purses  and 
let  some  of  that  lont;  green  flow,  and  with  his  influence  he 
can  turn  things  around  and  do  things;  he  represents  such  a 
great  body  of  men,  these  publishers." ' 

In  answer  to  the  question  as  to  Hammerling's  bu'^i- 
ness  dealings  with  the  papers  in  the  associatiou,  Zotti 
said: 

It  was  not  conducted  as  a  legitimate  business.  It  was: 
make  as  much  as  you  can  from  the  advertisers  and  pay  as 
little"aS~7Tr[l~cani~tb  the  publisher,  except  to  a  few  publishers 
who  would  slaird  by  the  rates,  where  he  could  not  butt  in. 
For  instance,  to-day  I  am  receiving  advertisements  from  the 
Standard  Oil  Companj'^  and  from  the  Edison  company 
through  Hammerling.  He  is  bound  to  give  it  to  me.  He 
attempted  to  tak  ■  it  away,  but  they  said,  "We  want  that 
paper  because  the  paper  has  a  circulation."  Also,  the  Consoli- 
dated Gas  Company.  But  he  still  handles  the  advertisements. 
He  is  compelled  to  give  it  to  me  by  the  corporations  them- 
selves, upon  the  merits  of  the  paper.  ...  As  have  explained, 
papers  that  were  not  on  a  stable  basis  and  that  needed  his 
help,  as  I  would  say,  and  were  afraid  to  fight  him  personally, 
were  naturally  controlled  through  him,  by  always  the  same 
threat,  "We  will  withdraw  all  the  patronage";  like,  for 
instance,  in  the  personal-liberty  matter.  I  never  spoke  to 
him  about  it,  and  never  wanted  it,  although  I  knew  he  was 
getting  paid  so  much  per  line.  I  know  I  saved  other  pub- 
lishers, who  did  not  publish  that.  But  then  there  were  others, 
because  the  easiest  way  was  the  best  way,  and  they  did  not 
want  to  get  into  trouble  with  this  man  who  was  giving  them 

'  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  vol.  i,  p.  640. 
401 


THE  nrMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

$10,000,  $20,000,  and  $30,000  a  year's  advertising;  and  they 
took  the  advertisements  and  published  them.  .  .  .  What  we 
would  call  those  papers  which  are  absolutely  dependent — 
and  there  are  some  in  New  York,  with  good  circulations,  and 
in  Chicago  and  other  great  centers — they  are  different.  They 
did  not  care.  You  take  the  Prugresso,  and  the  Italo-Ameri- 
cano,  and  the  big  Italian  dailies,  they  do  not  care.  .  .  .  Other 
papers  whose  publishers,  as  I  said,  would  rather  travel  the 
easiest  way  and  get  the  money,  took  the  money  and  kept 
quiet.  The  little  papers  hi  the  little  towns,  naturally  he  has 
been  manipulating  them  any  old  way  he  wanted  to.  For 
mstance,  this  fellow  Jaudon,  who  was  auditor  of  the  Ham- 
merling  institution,  explained  to  me — he  is  now  in  the  INIarine 
Corps,  United  States  Navy — that  the  Standard  Oil  Company 
advertisement  would  go  to  several  of  these  foreign  papers 
outside,  little  papers  that  had  1,000  circulation  throughout 
the  state,  and  as  soon  as  they  would  get  the  30-inch  adver- 
tisement for  the  second  insertion  they  would  receive  a  letter 
from  Hammerling  stating  that  their  paper  has  no  circulation 
and  that  tlie  company  wants  to  withdraw  that,  but  that  he 
will  use  his  influence  so  that  the  company  will  keep  the 
advertisement,  but  that  he  cannot  pay  them  the  rate.  He 
would  pay  him  a  little  less  rate,  if  he  gets  the  advertisement 
again,  but  he  would  advise  the  publisher  to  keep  the  "ad" 
for  the  time  being,  and  show  his  good  will.  In  this  way  a 
good  many  of  those  poor  fellows  kept  the  "ad"  for  fifty-two 
weeks  and  got  paid  for  two  weeks.  Mr.  Hammerling  col- 
lected the  balance  of  fifty  weeks  from  the  Standard  Oil  Com- 
pany, and  pocketed  it. 

There  were  other  instances  of  trimming  of  newspapers  for 
which  Jaudon  was  paid;  they  skinned  them  out  of  so  many 
insertions  a  week.  He  [Jaudon]  was  getting  extra  presents 
to  do  that.i 

The  testimony  of  Frank  Zotti,  describing  the  manner 
in  which  the  American  Association  of  Foreign  Language 
Newspapers  was  formed,  and  the  control  it  exercised 
over  the  foreign-language  press,  is  confirmed  by  a  less 

*  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  6i,  vol.  i,  pp.  644-645. 
402 


THE  MANIPULATIONS  OF  HAJVU^IERLING 

sophisticated  witness,  Mr.  Dushan  Popovich,  editor  of 
the  Serb  Sentinel  of  New  York  City.  The  Sentinel  is 
a  struggling  little  weekly,  but  is  distinguished  by  the 
fact  that  it  is  one  of  the  pajjers  that  refused  to  sign 
the  "Appeal  to  the  American  People,"  and  was,  in 
consequence,  promptly  punished  for  insubordination. 
The  Sentinel  was  one  of  the  first  papers  to  become  a 
member  of  Hammerling's  organization.  INIr.  Popo- 
vich's  testimony  is  as  follows: 

He  [Hammerlingl  came  to  me  asking  me  if  I  would  take  an 
advertisement  for  my  paper.  I  said,  "Oh,  yes,  why  not.''" 
So  that  he  asked  me  for  rates.  I  told  him  my  rate — I  think 
25  cents  per  inch — and  he  brought  right  away  advertise- 
ments, and  I  can't  say  how  much,  but  he  paid  me.  Every 
first,  in  the  morning,  there  was  a  bill  and  check  in  the  mail, 
over  there,  all  the  time.  .  .  . 

He  said  to  me  that  I  can  get  advertisements  from  him 
under  one  condition  only — if  I  buy  shares  in  this  association; 
so  that  I  said  to  him  that  I  don't  want  to  buy  any  shares; 
I  have  no  money  for  buying  shares.  I  don't  know  the  man, 
and  to  come  right  away  and  ask  me  to  buy  a  hundred  dollars 
of  stock — so  that  he  says,  "You  must  not  pay  that.  I  will 
give  you  advertisements,  and  every  month  I  will  deduct  so 
much,  and  I  will  give  you  the  shares."  So  this,  in  that  way 
I  got  the  advertisements  and  they  were  paid  for,  and  in  the 
same  way  I  got  the  shares,  too — two  shares.  ,  ,  . 

From  the  beginning  I  did  not  get  much  [advertising].  I 
got  about — I  don't  remember  exactly — from  $15  to  $25  a 
month,  and  gradually  it  was  alwaj's  more  and  more,  so  that 
I  had — up  until  he  put  that  appeal  before  me  that  I  should 
sign — I  had  then  about  $70  or  $80  a  month.  .  .  .  He  sent 
Mr.  Gabriel  to  me.  .  .  .  He  came  to  my  oflBce  at  384  Second 
Avenue  one  afternoon,  as  much  as  I  can  remember,  after 
dinner,  and  said  to  me,  "JNIr.  Popovich,  please  sign  that; 
Mr.  Hammerling  would  like  if  you  would  sign  it."  So  that 
before  I  sign  something  I  want  to  see  what  I  am  signing; 
and  I  started  to  read  one  line,  two  lines,  three  lines,  and  then 
it  was  perfectly  clear  to  me  what  it  is.    I  read  a  little  further, 

403 


THE  IMMIGR.VNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

and  so  I  found  out  that  he  wants  that  I  should  sign  an  appeal 
to  the  American  people  that  they  should  stop  manufacturing 
munitions,  and  stop  sending  munitions  to  our  allies.  As  a 
good  Serbian,  ami  a  good  American  citizen,  too,  I  got  angry 
right  away,  and  I  said  to  him,  in  high  words,  "Mr.  Gabriel, 
tell  to  Mr.  Hammerling  that  Mr.  Popovich  will  never  sign 
that." 

As  soon  as  he  went  on  the  street,  after  two  or  three  minutes, 
I  took  the  telephone  receiver,  and  I  telephoned  right  away 
to  the  Serbian  Vallie,  to  Mr.  Rankovich;  I  said  to  him,  "Mr. 
Rankovich,  was  Mr.  Gabriel  in  your  office  to-day?"  He 
said,  "No."  I  said:  "Well,  he  is  coming  right  away.  He 
is  coming  in  a  few  minutes  to  get  you  to  sign  something,  and 
you  may  not  look  at  it.  Do  not  sign  what  he  will  bring  there. 
You  are  a  busy  man,  and  maybe  you  will  not  look  at  it;  he 
is  giving  you  so  many  advertisements  every  month  and 
maybe  you  will  be  careless  and  sign  that,  and  it  is  against 
our  Serbian-American  interests."  I  told  him  what  it  is  "and 
please  inform  your  interpreter  right  away" — there  is  an  in- 
terpreter on  the  daily  Serbian  papers — "and  let  them  know 
not  to  do  that";  and  he  did  that,  he  informed  the  daily 
Serbian  papers,  and  I  saw  an  editorial  he  wTote  the  next  day, 
or  a  few  days  later;  I  found  out  that  the  Bohemian  papers 
had  sent  letters  right  away  throughout  the  country  to  the 
other  Bohemian  papers  that  they  should  not  sign  this  appeal. 

So  that  this  was  not  enough  for  me,  that  I  have  telephoned 
to  Mr.  Rankovich,  and  I  telephoned  right  away  to  IVIr. 
Hammerling,  too,  and  I  said  that  "as  a  member  of  our  asso- 
ciation I  am  protesting  that  you  should  send  to  the  members 
to  sign  something  like  that."  Then  he  said  to  me,  "Well, 
]VIr.  Popovich,  you  can  do  what  you  want  to,  but  I  advise 
you  that  if  you  do  not  sign  this  appeal  you  will  be  sorry  for 
that."  These  are  the  words  he  said  to  me  ...  in  the  next 
two  or  three  months,  gradually  ...  of  course,  he  did  not 
stop  all  advertisement  at  once,  but  in  a  very  short  time — 
I  do  not  remember  exactly  how  many  days — but  in  three  or 
four  months  or  four  or  five  months  ...  he  drops  from  $70 
to  $80  a  month  to  $4  a  month,  and  taking  his  10  per  cent 
for  his  services,  I  got  about  $3. CO  a  month  advertismg  from 

404 


THE  IMANIPULATIONS  OF  HA^IIilERLING 

him.  Since  about  two  months  I  have  not  a  cent,  and  I  am 
not  sorry  for  that,  because  as  a  Serbian,  and  as  a  good  Ameri- 
can citizen,  I  could  not  sign  that,  never.^ 

Popovich  was  one  of  the  men  whom  HammerUng 
employed  to  translate  the  "personal  liberty"  articles 
from  the  Leader,  for  which  he  charged  the  brewers  $200 
a  month.  He  paid  Popovich  for  the  work  $10,  and 
this  included  the  setting  and  printing  of  proofs  for  dis- 
tribution to  other  Serbian  paf)ers. 

I  hear  yesterday  he  got  $200  a  month  for  that  from  the 
Serbian  administration,  and  he  was  paid  separately  for  those 
ten  proofs,  mailing  them;  so  that  I  see  he  did  me  wTong. 
He  is  a  rich  man  and  I  am  struggling  very  hard  since  twenty 
years.  I  have  a  little  printing  oflBce,  where  I  spent  about 
$20,000  for  three  linotype  machines,  and  so  on,  old  macliinery, 
and  I  don't  know  whether  it  is  worth  now  $5,000;  and  after 
spending  my  whole  life  on  it  .  .  .  and  he  takes  from  me  these 
few  dollars.  .  .  .^ 

HAMMERLING   HIMSELF 

It  is  not  possible  to  understand  the  American  Associa- 
tion of  Foreign  Language  Newspapers  in  all  its  diverse 
operations  apart  from  the  man  who  created  and  con- 
trolled it.  Louis  N.  Hamraerling  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  problematic  personalities  which  the 
conditions  of  American  life  have  produced  out  of  the 
raw  stuff  of  European  immigration.  Considered  as  a 
type,  he  falls  in  the  class  which,  in  the  report  of  these 
studies  on  Old  World  Traits  Transplanted,  has  been 
characterized  as  the  allrightnick,  using  a  term  which 
was  first  given  currency  by  Abraham  Cahan  in  the 
Jewish  Forward.  An  allrightnick  is,  first  of  all,  an  im- 
migrant who  succeeds,  but  in  doing  so  abandons  all  his 
traditional  loyalties.     In  extreme  cases  he  becomes  a 

'  Sixty-sLxth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  vol.  i,  pp.  621-623. 
» Ibid.  p.  62i. 

405 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

man  without  the  ties  of  country,  kin,  or  religion.  Ham- 
merhng  is  such  a  man.  It  would  not  be  fair  to  say  that 
he  is  the  ordinary  and  natural  product  of  an  over-hasty 
Americanization.  The  sudden  rise  to  wealth  and  in- 
fluence of  this  obscure  immigrant  is,  nevertheless,  one 
of  the  most  characteristic  incidents  of  American  life. 
Hammerling,  it  is  safe  to  say,  could  not  have  happened 
in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

Louis  N.  Hammerling  was  born  in  the  province  of  Galicia 
in  either  1870  or  1874.  He  was  never  quite  certain  of  his  age, 
according  to  his  own  confession,  until  1915,  when  he  was  in 
danger  of  being  drafted  into  the  army.  Then,  through  his 
relatives,  he  discovered  that  he  was  born  in  1870.  At  any 
rate,  on  February  25,  1915,  when  he  made  application  for  a 
marriage  license  in  Brooklyn,  he  swore  that  he  was  born  in 
1874.  But  Hammerling  says  that  he  did  this  merely  to  make 
later  statements  consistent  with  his  first,  when  he  took  out 
his  naturalization  papers  in  1901.  At  that  time  he  stated 
that  he  was  born  in  Hawaii.  His  explanation  in  this  case  was 
that  he  thought  everyone  was  permitted,  upon  entering  this 
country,  to  choose  his  own  birthplace.  He  had  been  to 
Hawaii,  and  liked  the  climate. 

In  testimony  before  Alfred,  assistant  to  the  Attorney- 
General  of  New  York,  Hammerling  said : 

"I  was  driven  out  of  home  at  nine  years  old.  I  am  sorry 
to  say  anji:hing  against  my  own  people,  a  disagreeable  fam- 
ily. My  father  did  not  make  two  dollars  a  week  in  Austrian 
money,  and  I  was  one  of  five  children.  Then  he  married  a 
second  time,  and  then  the  third  time,  but  this  was  during  my 
time.  I  was  taken  away  by  a  peasant  out  of  a  matter  of 
mercy,  inasmuch  as  my  people  were  Jewish  by  race;  I  was 
not,  and  this  peasant  took  me  away  to  make  a  Christian  out 
of  me;  that  was  his  idea.  That  is  the  way  the  peasants  are 
taught  to  help  to  make  Christians,  and  he  took  me  with  him 
as  far  as  Bremen,  Germany,  and  there  we  went  on  a  boat. 
By  his  money  he  took  me  to  Upp>er  Lehigh,  Pennsylvania, 
near  Hazleton.  In  a  few  weeks  he  found  he  had  a  brother 
there;   that  he  was  working  in  the  mines  3,000  feet  under- 

406 


THE  ^lANIPULATIONS  OF  IIAIMMERLIXG 

ground.  At  least,  I  was  too  young  to  remember;  for  quite 
a  few  thousand  kronen — he  had  another  relative  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,  and  he  took  me  there,  and  we  went  to  that 
place,  where  I  claimed  citizenship,  and  the  Almighty  was 
there,  and  the  greatest  scenery  on  earth,  beautiful  climate, 
that  I  have  ever  seen,  and  I  worked  for  him  eighteen  months 
with  the  Japs,  Chinese,  and  Negroes,  in  the  sugar  plantations, 
and  it  was  good,  and  I  loved  it,  and  I  began  to  be  a  great 
lover  of  the  country."  ' 

Hammerling  first  came  to  the  United  States  in  1879,  when 
he  was  nine  years  old.  He  was  in  New  York  some  months 
and  then  went  into  Upper  Lehigh  in  tlie  anthracite  coal 
region  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  there  for  about  five  years. 
About  that  time,  as  Hammerling  says,  "the  Molly  Maguires 
began  killing  people."  The  man  who  brought  him  over  went 
to  work  on  a  farm.  Hammerlmg  went  back  to  New  York 
and  worked  in  a  restaurant,  and  after  a  few  months  returned 
to  Europe.    At  that  time  he  was  about  fourteen  years  old. 

In  1896  or  1897,  he  says,  he  was  called  to  serve  in  the  army. 
He  made  his  escape  to  Bremenhafen,  Germany,  and  from 
there  he  shipped  to  Hawaii.  Apparently  Hammerling  and 
his  "colleagues,"  as  he  calls  them,  went  to  Hawaii  as  contract 
laborers,  as  redemptioners,  who  engaged  to  work  out  their 
passage  by  work  on  the  sugar  plantations. 

"We  were  practically  sold  out  by  some  German  crooks 
there.  .  .  .  Most  of  my  colleagues  who  came  with  me  died 
from  the  hardships  and  the  way  we  were  getting  licked.  I 
still  have  three  marks  on  my  back  from  the  treatment  that 
I  received.  .  .  . 

"...  A  German  concern  called  Hachfeld  &  Heizenberg 
contracted  with  the  assistance  of  the  American  consul  to 
send  us  on  that  boat.  We  had  to  work  for  five  years  for 
nothing,  and  of  the  500  of  us  who  went  on  that  boat,  about 
300  of  them  died,  and  the  rest  ran  away.  I  was  one  of  them 
that  ran  away.  We  went  away  on  a  United  States  transport 
ship;  if  I  remember  right,  it  was  the  Alameda.  W^e  slept 
under  the  beds.    The  soldiers  took  us  for  mercy."  ^ 


1  Sixty-sLxth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  vol.  i,  p.  546. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  537,  545. 

407 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

In  1889  Hammerling  was  in  Wilkes-Barre,  working  as  a 
timber  man  in  the  mines.  He  worked  here  three  or  four 
years,  and  during  this  time  became  connected  with  a  news- 
paper. In  1904  he  was  invited  by  Senators  Quay  and  Pen- 
rose to  come  to  New  York  to  handle  the  foreign-language 
papers  in  the  campaign  for  that  year,  and  four  years  later 
he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  national  con- 
vention. This  same  year  he  organized  tlie  American  Asso- 
ciation of  Foreign  Language  Newspapers,  and  through  it  dis- 
pensed the  Republican  political  advertising  during  the  cam- 
paign of  that  year. 

The  interesting  thing  about  Hammerling  from  the  point 
of  view  of  Americanization  is  his  constant  insistence  that  in 
all  his  political  and  business  transactions  he  has  conformed 
to  the  American  political  and  business  customs  as  he  foimd 
them. 

^Vhen,  on  cross-examination  before  the  Senate  committee, 
he  was  charged  with  purchasing  the  influence  of  foreign- 
language  papers  in  return  for  the  advertising  he  was  able  to 
offer  them,  Hammerling  replied: 

"The  average  papers,  including  the  largest  in  the  United 
States,  support  their  advertisers  in  different  ways.  I  am 
simply  doing  what  I  learned  in  this  country  from  the  American 
newspaper  people  in  the  way  they  are  doing  it.  There  is 
hardly  an  advertiser  who  is  not  asked  if  he  wants  something 
in  that  paper  when  he  advertises." 

Major  Humes  said:  "Then  your  practice  in  conducting 
your  advertising  business  is  to  imdertake  to  use  your  influence 
to  deliver  the  editorial  support  of  the  paper  to  the  adver- 
tisers, no  matter  who  the  advertisers  are.    Is  that  correct?" 

"It  is,  in  a  general  proposition.  Major."  ^ 

The  following  testimony  in  regard  to  the  local  po- 
litical conditions  in  the  anthracite  region  and  in  New 
York  City  illustrates  the  way  in  which  an  ignorant 
immigrant  is  likely  to  misinterpret  the  meaning  and 
intention  of  American  democracy. 

^  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  vol.  i,  pp.  592-598. 
408 


THE  MANIPULATIONS  OF  HMIMERLING 

Question. — With  reference  to  your  naturalization,  and  the 
naturalization  that  was  being  carried  on  in  the  locality  in 
which  you  resided  at  the  time  of  j'our  naturalization,  was  it 
a  common  practice  there  for  aliens  to  be  naturalized  without 
regard  to  the  length  of  residence  in  this  country? 

Answer. — Before  elections;  yes,  sir. 

Q. — Before  elections  it  was  a  common  practice  to  bring  in 
a  lot  of  aliens  and  get  hem  naturalized  so  as  to  qualify  them 
for  voters? 

A. — That  was  my  knowledge. 

Q. — Was  there  an  organized  effort  being  made  in  that  com- 
munity to  carry  on  this  practice? 

A. — I  do  not  say  in  that  community.  It  was  all  over  the 
coal  region. 

Q. — All  over  the  anthracite  coal  region? 

A. — Yes,  sir;  to  my  knowledge. 

Q. — Were  there  certain  men  there  who  made  a  business  of 
rounding  up  these  aliens  and  getting  them  m  and  getting  them 
naturalized? 

A. — It  did  not  require  them.  It  was  the  county  organiza- 
tions; the  political  parties. 

Q. — The  political  parties? 

A.— Yes. 

Q. — And  you  simply  went  along  with  that  practice;  one 
of  these  political  organizations  came  to  you  and  asked  you 
to  be  naturalized,  and  they  prepared  your  papers,  and  you 
paid  no  attention  to  them,  and  they  went  away? 

A. — They  were  not  prepared  at  all.  It  was  a  regular  thing 
to  just  put  in  the  name.  That  is  the  way  citizenship  was 
given.  Now  it  is  changed.  It  is  the  United  States  govern- 
ment.   Before,  it  was  a  county  court. 

Q. — They  naturalized  you  in  order  that  you  might  vote  in 
that  election?    Was  that  the  reason? 

A.— Yes. 

Q. — Who  was  it  that  came  to  you? 

A. — I  do  not  remember.  Senator. 

Q. — Where  were  you  at  the  time? 

A. — Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  It  is  never  more  than 
about  a  week  or  two  weeks  before  an  election  in  that  county 

409 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

that  they  tell  you  who  they  want  elected.  There  is  nothing 
wrong  about  it.  It  is  done.  If  we  have  some  town  like 
Duryea,  the  election  is  over  whenever  the  parties  on  both 
sides  agree  that  such  man  shall  be  elected. 

I  will  give  you  an  instance.  We  had  a  Congressman  by  the 
name  of  Henry  W.  Palmer,  who  was  a  very  high-grade  man. 
I  worked  under  him  iu  the  United  Charities.  Mr.  Palmer  was 
a  good  man,  but  he  recommended  a  postmaster  not  satisfac- 
tory to  the  Irish.  In  Wilkes-Barre  they  wanted  a  certain 
Irishman  by  the  name  of  Athener.  The  district,  as  you 
gentlemen  will  see  from  the  Congressional  Directory,  is  over- 
whelmingly Republican,  but  we  elected  John  T.  Lanahan 
with  an  overwhelming  majority  as  a  Democrat,  for  the  reason 
that  those  were  the  instructions  from  the  bosses — I  mean 
from  Washington,  whoever  is  the  head  of  the  party. 

Q. — Naturalization  frauds  were  a  common  practice  up  in 
the  anthracite  coal  region? 

A. — Nobody  consideretl  it  a  wrong  thing  to  do.  It  was 
just  done.  When  they  were  short  of  men  in  a  certain  district 
they  used  to  send  to  another  to\\Ti — to  Scranton — get  a 
couple  of  carloads  in,  and  vote  them.  That  is  absolutely 
true. 

Q. — They  sent  them  over  by  carloads? 

A. — Yes;  they  sent  them  over  by  carloads.  One  man 
might  go  into  ten  different  places  to  vote — I  mean  the  less 
intelligent  ones — not  only  foreigners,  but  everybody. 

Q. — They  repeated,  then? 

A. — Yes,  nobody  objected  to  it  that  I  know  of.^ 

Hammerling  claims  he  never  had  a  day  of  schooling 
in  his  life.  It  is  part  of  the  tradition  which  has  grown 
up  among  his  associates  that  he  could  not  write  the 
English  language.  He  spoke  English  with  reasonable 
correctness,  however,  when  he  was  not  excited,  and 
dictated  rapidly  and  fluently. 

The  founder  of  the  American  Association  of  Foreign 
Language  Newspapers  did  not  make  a  good  witness  in 

1  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  vol.  i,  pp.  608-609. 
Hammerliug's  testimony. 

410 


THE  M.\NIPULATIONS  OF  HA:MMERL1NG 

his  testimony  before  the  Senate  committee.  He  was 
forced  to  admit  that  he  was  not  a  legal  citizen  of  the 
United  States;  that  he  had  obtained  his  naturalization 
papers  by  fraud  and  perjury;  that  his  "association" 
was  a  shady  sort  of  corporation,  the  officers  of  which 
were  clerks  and  dummies,  and  that  he  was  not  even 
doing  a  legitimate  advertising  business,  since  he  was 
selling  the  influence  he  gained  as  an  advertising  agent 
to  influence  legislation  and  poUtical  action  through  the 
foreign-language  press. 

Ilammerling  seems  to  have  had  a  genius  for  personal 
intrigue  and  negotiation.  He  operated  as  a  middleman 
between  two  groups  of  interests — the  foreign-language 
press  and  American  business — at  a  time  when  neither 
knew  enough  about  the  other  to  be  able  to  negotiate 
successfully  without  expert  assistance.  His  sudden  rise 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  was  able  to  capitalize  and 
sell  to  each  his  influence,  real  or  pretended,  with  the 
other.  This  is  not  to  minimize  Hammerling's  service 
to  both.  HammerUng  was  the  first  man  who  made  any 
serious  attempt  to  put  advertising  in  the  foreign- 
language  papers  on  a  sound  business  basis.  But  the 
opportunities  for  "honest"  graft  were  large,  and  Ham- 
merling  exploited  them  with  great  ingenuity  and 
success. 
27 


XVII 

ENEMY     PROPAGANDA    AND    GOVERNMENT 
INTERVENTION 

The  first  serious  public  attempt  to  control  the  utterances 
of  the  immigrant  press  was  made  during  the  World  War, 
as  part  of  the  government's  fight  against  enemy  propa- 
ganda. Quite  aside  from  its  effect  upon  the  successful 
conduct  of  the  war,  this  attempt  has  had  an  important 
and  continuing  influence  upon  the  development  of  the 
foreign-language  press  as  an  instrument  of  assimilation. 
Propaganda  is  now  recognized  as  part  of  the  grand 
strategy"  of  war. 

W^hen  the  final  history  of  the  W^orld  War  comes  to 
be  written,  one  of  its  most  interesting  chapters  will  be 
a  description  of  the  methods  and  devices  which  were 
used  by  the  armies  of  both  sides  to  destroy  the  will  to 
war  in  the  enemy's  troops  and  among  the  peoples 
behind  the  lines.  If  the  application  of  modem  science 
to  war  has  multipUed  the  engines  of  destruction,  the 
increase  of  communication  and  the  interpenetration  of 
peoples  has  given  war  among  civilized  peoples  the 
character  of  an  internal  or  internecine  struggle.  Under 
these  circumstances  propaganda,  in  the  sense  of  an 
insidious  exploitation  of  the  sources  of  dissension  and 
unrest,  may  as  completely  change  the  character  of  wars 
as  they  were  once  changed  by  the  invention  of  gun- 
powder. 

The  United  States,  at  the  time  of  declaring  war, 
offered  tremendous  opportunities  for  enemy  propa- 
ganda.   There  were  grave  doubts,  considering  the  divi- 

412 


G0\TERN1VIENT  INTERVENTION 

sion  in  popular  sentiment  and  the  heterogeneous  ele- 
ments of  which  our  population  was  composed,  whether 
the  United  States  was  capable  of  acting  vigorously  and 
as  a  unit. 

It  was  estimated  that  20,000,000  people  in  the  United 
States  were  either  German  born  or  the  descendants  of 
German  immigrants.  The  Irish  immigrants  and  their 
descendants  numbered,  it  was  said,  15,000,000.  Both 
the  German  and  Irish  were  anti-English.  The  Swedes 
were  inclined  to  side  with  the  Germans.  The  Poles 
and  Jews  were  anti-Russian.  The  Lithuanians  and 
Ruthenians  were  against  the  Poles.  The  Jugoslavs 
were  against  the  Itahans,  but  divided  in  their  allegiance 
to  the  Austro-Hungarian  Empire.  The  Greeks  were 
divided  between  Venizelos,  the  Prime  Minister,  and 
Constantine.  The  Czechs  were  against  Austria  and 
the  Slovaks  against  Hungary. 

Every  nationality  in  the  United  States  had  its  own 
special  interest  in  the  conflict,  and  regarded  this  coun- 
try's participation  in  the  war  from  the  point  of  view  of 
its  separate  national  interest.  Some  of  our  immigrant 
peoples  did  not  regard  this  country  as  a  nation.  It 
was  merely  a  place  in  which  people  lived,  like  the 
Austrian  Empire — a  geographical  expression.  Finally, 
there  were  the  Socialists,  I.  W.  W.'s,  pacifists,  and 
anarchists,  who  were  against  the  war  on  principle. 

All  these  attitudes,  except  pacifism,  were  largely 
represented  among  the  immigrant  peoples  and  the 
immigrant  press,  and  these  materials  the  propagandists 
manipulated  to  the  end  of  impeding  our  progress  in  the 
war. 

FOUNDATIONS   IN   IMMIGRANTS*   LOYALTY 

From  disclosures  that  were  made  during  the  World 
War,  and  since,  it  is  now  apparent  that  the  leaders  of 
the  German  people  realized  the  power  of  propaganda 

413 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

earlier  and  more  completely  than  the  peoples  of  other 
nations,  and  with  that  methodical  procedure  for  which 
they  are  noted  they  made,  long  before  the  outbreak  of 
the  late  war,  detailed  studies  of  the  sources  of  actual 
and  potential  unrest  in  all  the  countries  with  which 
they  were  likely  to  come  in  conflict.  On  the  basis  of 
these  studies  they  made  their  calculations  and  con- 
trolled their  policies. 

Long  before  the  war,  for  example,  Germany  was 
active  in  establishing  cultural  colonies  in  every  part 
of  the  world  to  which  German  commerce  and  German 
immigration  had  penetrated. 

In  the  United  States  the  task  of  keeping  alive  the 
German  spirit  and  of  making  America,  as  far  as  possible, 
a  cultural  colony  of  Germany,  was  carried  on  largely 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Deutsch-Amerikanischer 
Bund,  otherwise  known  as  the  German-American  Al- 
liance, of  which  Charles  J.  Hexamer,  an  American-born 
German- American,  was  president.  In  1907  this  asso- 
ciation was  granted  a  national  charter,  and  before  the 
war  it  had  6,500  local  societies  "held  together  in  the 
bonds  of  Germanism,"  as  the  Alldeidsche  Blatter 
phrased  it. 

These  societies,  as  soon  as  war  was  declared  in  Eu- 
rope, became  centers  of  German  propaganda.  A  month 
after  the  opening  of  hostilities  President  Hexamer  made 
the  following  announcement  in  the  official  organ,  Mit- 
teilungen  des  Deidsch-Amerikanischen  Bundes: 

In  every  city  there  should  be  a  bureau  of  literature,  with  an 
eflBcient  press  agent  established,  a  press  agent  who  should 
react  immediately  in  the  language  upon  all  hostile  attacks 
and  statements  of  ignorance  of  irresponsible  reporters  of 
English  newspapers.! 

!  Propaganda  in  Its  Military  and  Legal  Aspects,  Military  Intelligence 
Branch,  Executive  Division,  General  Staff,  U.  S.  A.,  p.  80. 

414 


GOVERNMENT  INTERVENTION 

In  Germany,  and  among  German-Americans,  public 
opinion  in  regard  to  Belgium  was  regarded  as  a  mere 
reflection  of  English  propaganda  and  the  English  press. 
This  seemed  not  merely  to  justify  German-Americans 
in  doing  something  to  counteract  English  influences, 
but  to  make  such  action  a  duty.  The  attitude  of 
German-Americans,  in  the  early  stages  of  the  war,  at 
least,  is  probably  pretty  well  reflected  in  a  letter  by 
Dr.  K.  L.  Stoll  to  President  Chas.  W.  Dabney  of  the 
University  of  Cincinnati,  protesting  against  references 
to  Germany  made  in  a  patriotic  address.  In  concluding 
the  letter.  Doctor  Stoll  said: 

.  .  .  Try  to  get  familiar  with  the  real  causes  of  this  terrible 
war  and  join  me  in  this  wish — may  God  Almighty  smite  those 
who  caused  the  untold  suffering  of  this  war;  may  He  punish 
them  and  their  offspring;  may  He  cause  to  be  ashamed  all 
those  who  twist  and  distort  truth  for  no  other  reasons  but 
hatred  or  hope  of  personal  advantage.  Let  us  fight  for  "right 
and  honor!" 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

K.  L.  Stoll,  M.D.i 

German-Americans,  who  were  leaders  in  the  so-called 
German-American  movement,  felt  that  the  whole  Eng- 
lish political  tradition  in  America  must  be  attacked 
and  uprooted. 

The  National  Alliance  leads  the  battle  against  Anglo- 
Saxonism,  against  the  fanatical  slaves  of  political  and  per- 
sonal liberty.  It  battles  against  narrow-hearted,  dark  know- 
nothingism,  against  the  British  influence,  against  zealotism 
which  sprang  from  England,  and  against  the  slavery  of 
Puritanism. 2 


1  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  First  Session,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  pp. 
2109-2110. 

^  Mitteilungen  des  Deutsch-Amerikanischen  Bundes,  vol.  vii,  no.  9, 
p.  4. 

415 


THE  BtMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

It  does  not  appear  anywhere  that  the  German- 
American  Alliance  conceived  its  cultural  task  in  Amer- 
ica to  be  essentially  different  from  that,  for  example, 
of  the  American  Scandinavian  Foundation  or  the  Jew- 
ish Menorah  Society.  These  organizations  and  others 
have,  as  part  of  their  purpose,  the  perpetuation  among 
immigrants  in  this  country  of  the  tradition  and  culture 
of  the  mother  countries.  The  chief  difference  was  that 
the  efforts  to  preserve  the  German  culture  assumed 
the  character  of  a  separatist  movement.  President 
Hexamer,  for  example,  is  reported  to  have  said  at  a 
convention  of  German- Americans,  "\Ye  have  long  suf- 
fered under  the  preachment  that  'you  Germans  must 
allow  yourselves  to  be  assimilated.  You  Germans  must 
merge  with  the  American  people.'  But  no  one  will  ever 
find  us  prepared  to  descend  to  an  inferior  culture." 

This  speech  and  the  whole  behavior  of  the  German- 
American  Alliance  have  been  given  a  more  sinister 
interpretation.  When,  in  1918,  the  question  of  re- 
voking the  charter  of  the  German  Alliance  came  before 
the  Senate  Committee  on  Judiciary,  Gustavus  Ohlinger, 
president  of  the  Toledo  Chamber  of  Commerce,  stated 
that  the  purpose  of  the  German  Alliance  was  not  merely 
to  keep  alive  the  German  spirit  and  foster  German 
culture,  but  was  in  fact  and  in  purpose  part  of  the 
mihtary  plan  of  the  German  General  Staff  to  destroy  the 
American  national  spirit. 

**I  say,  advisedly,  German  military  preparation  against  the 
United  States  began  twenty  years  ago,  and  the  same  process 
was  followed  with  the  United  States  as  was  followed  in  so 
many  other  countries;  that  is,  the  policy  of  infiltration,  of 
propaganda  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  national  spirit 
of  a  country." ' 


*  Propaganda  in  Its  Military  and  Legal  Aspects,  Military  Intelli- 
gence Branch,  Executive  Division,  General  Staff,  U.  S.  A.,  p.  80. 

416 


G0\T:RNMENT  INTEmT^NTION 

There  is  danger  of  attributing  omniscience  to  the 
German  General  Staff.  There  is  evidence,  however,  at 
hand  to  show  that  Germany  had  foreseen  the  poHtical 
and  mihtary  as  well  as  the  commercial  advantages  of 
promoting  German  Kulhir  abroad.  At  any  rate,  long 
before  the  war,  plans  had  been  broached  for  converting 
the  New  York  Staats-Zeitung  into  an  English  newspaper 
so  that  Germans  might  have  a  paper  published  in  the 
vernacular  to  counteract  the  influence  of  England  in 
American  affairs. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  assume  that  all  this  extension 
of  German  influence  had  taken  place  merely  to  serve 
the  military  ambition  of  Germany.  The  fact  is,  how- 
ever, that  when  war  was  actually  declared,  Germany 
was  fully  prepared  to  carry  on  an  insidious  warfare  of 
propaganda  and  disorganization  in  almost  every  part 
of  the  world.  Germany  was  particularly  well  prepared 
for  this  sort  of  campaign  in  the  United  States,  where 
there  were  at  that  time  532  German  papers,  the  editors 
of  which  were  unquestionably  more  or  less  under  the 
influence  of  "the  new  German  spirit,"  which  had  been 
so  sedulously  cultivated  in  America  since  1904  by  the 
German-zVmerican  Alliance  and  other  German-Amer- 
ican societies.^ 

Austrian,  and  more  particularly  Hungarian,  intrigue 
had  been  busy  in  America  long  before  the  war,  in  build- 
ing up  indirect  methods  of  control  of  the  various  racial 
and  language  groups.  This  machinery,  already  estab- 
lished, immediately  became  a  means  for  further  intrigue 
and  exploitation  after  the  war  began  in  Europe  and 
up  to  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the  conflict. 

In  July,  1911,  Baron  Kornfeld,  submanager  of  the  General 
Credit  Bank  of  Budapest,  came  to  New  York  in  order  to 

'  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  First  Session,  Senate  Document  no.  66, 
Brewing  and  Liquor  Interests,  etc.,  pp.  1681-1C86. 

417 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

establish  in  this  country  an  organization  known  as  the  Trans- 
atlantic Trust  Company.  The  Transatlantic  Trust  Company, 
upon  investigation  made  during  the  war,  turned  out  to  be  the 
agent  for  the  United  States  of  the  Hungarian  Postal  Savings 
Bank.  Its  ostensible  purpose  was  "to  further  and  protect 
the  interests  of  Hungarians  in  this  country."  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  its  purpose  was  to  monopolize,  in  the  interest  of  the 
Hungarian  government,  the  busmess  of  collecting  and  for- 
warding to  the  home  country  tlie  earnings  of  Hungarian  im- 
migrants in  this  country.  In  other  words,  to  take  over, 
organize,  and  extend  the  business  of  the  numerous  little 
immigrant  banks  whose  operations  had  long  since  become  a 
scandal  in  the  communities  where  they  existed.  However, 
"the  Transatlantic  Trust  Company  was  not,"  as  Mr.  Lajos 
Steiner,  an  American  Hungarian,  testified,  "a  bank  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  word.  It  was  a  pumping  station  whereby 
the  savings  of  the  Hungarian  have  been  sucked  out"  and 
transmitted  to  Europe.  The  normal  annual  export  of  Hun- 
garian savings  amounted,  according  to  Mr.  Steiner,  to  $400,- 
000,000  a  year. 

Incidentally,  the  Transatlantic  Trust  Company  existed  for 
the  purpose  of  encouraging  the  return  of  the  immigrant  to 
his  native  country,  and  co-operated  with  the  governmentally 
subsidized  Hungarian  churches  to  prevent  the  Americaniza- 
tion of  the  immigrants. 

In  answer  to  a  question  before  the  Senate  committee,  Mr. 
Steiner  said: 

".  .  .  The  Hungarian  government  had  the  idea  of  competing 
with  our  postal  system,  and  to  keep  the  immigrant  away  from 
everytliing  American,  and  they  carried  it  so  far,  as  our  records 
prove,  that  even  the  second  generation,  the  American-born 
children,  are  being  preserved  for  the  old  coimtry  with  a  view 
to  their  remigration." 

Question. — Do  they  discourage  the  teaching  of  English  in 
our  schools? 

Answer. — They  do.  One  of  the  gentlemen.  Major  Crockett 
of  the  Military  Intelligence,  has  been  conducting  an  investi- 
gation, and  has  obtained  much  evidence.  He  wrote  to  me 
about  six  weeks  ago  that  they  had  got  hold  of  a  prayer  book 

418 


GOVERXIMENT  INTERVENTION 

printed  by  this  congregation,  diocese  (sic),  which  is  subsi- 
dized by  the  Hungarian  government,  and  that  prayer  book 
urges  parents  to  keep  their  children  out  from  the  American 
public  schools  because  otherwise  they  will  become  a  loss  to 
Hungary;  and  the  respective  section  was  finished  with  the 
sentence : 

"  The  parent  who  sends  his  children  to  the  American  pub- 
lic school  should  be  hanged."  ^ 

So  close  was  the  relation  between  the  Transatlantic  Trust 
Company  and  the  subsidized  Hungarian  churches  that  on 
October  57,  1914,  the  following  circular  was  sent  out  to  the 
Hungarian  churches  of  the  Eastern  diocese  to  be  read  to  their 
congregations: 

Beloved  Brother  Co-reugionists  : 

Your  Superior  Church  Authority  sends  you  a  message,  the 
Dean  of  your  Diocese.  He  sends  you  the  message  that  our 
sweet  Hungarian  Fatherland  is  in  danger.  All  her  arm- 
bearing  sons  have  enrolled  under  the  flag,  and  if  100  deaths 
are  awaiting  him,  he  takes  his  healtliy  life  with  determined 
readiness  into  the  fire  of  the  battle  with  this  exclamation, 
"We  will  either  triumph  or  we  will  die  for  the  Fatherland!" 
But,  out  in  tlie  battle,  only  men  fall.  They  left  at  home 
wives,  children;  and  old  people  must  live,  and  they,  perhaps, 
are  starving;  because  the  breadwinner  has  gone  to  heroic 
battle — for  all  of  us!  Brothers!  sorrow  and  poverty  are  at 
home.  Children's  lips  are  asking  bread  from  sad  mothers. 
Is  it  not  true  that  you  who  are  at  home  and  can  give  enough 
bread  to  your  children  are  happy  in  the  thought.'*  Oh,  do  you 
hear  across  the  sea,  no  matter  how  great  the  ocean  is,  that 
many  hundred  thousands  of  poor  Hungarians  are  exclaiming 
to  you,  "  Help  us,  you  who  are  in  America !"  Brothers !  Those 
who  have  at  home  parents,  children,  brothers,  or  relatives  in 
this  famine,  do  not  forget  them;  send  them  money,  the  more 
munificently,  the  more  quantity,  and  the  sooner,  because  he 
is  not  an  Hungarian  who  in  these  awful  ilays  deserts  his  own 
people  and  allows  his  o\\-n  blood  relatives  to  be  in  misery. 

^  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  vol.  ii,  pp.  2833- 
2834. 

419 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

And  he  who  sends  money  home  shall  send  it  through  the 
Transatlantic  Trust  Company  (207  Second  Avenue,  New 
York),  the  money-sending  blanks  of  which,  after  this  service, 
will  be  distributed  at  the  church  door,  and  wliich  money 
institution  is  in  every  respect  reliable  and  which  is  (fficially 
recommended  also  for  the  support  of  our  churches  by  the 
Most  Reverend  and  Right  Honorable  President  of  the  Conventus. 
Brothers!  Hear  my  words,  and  then  act!  Send  money  home 
through  the  Transatlantic  Trust  Company  to  members  of 
your  family  in  Hungary,  to  your  relatives,  and  every  cent 
and  every  dollar  of  yours  will  be  blessed! 
All  of  you  are  greeted  with  love  by 

Dr.  Zoltan  Kuthy, 
The  Dean  of  the  American  Eastern  Reformed  Diocese.''- 

The  Hungarian  government  maintained  its  hold  on  both 
the  Catholic  and  the  Protestant  Hungarian  churches  in  this 
country  through  the  salaries  that  were  granted  to  the  priests 
and  ministers.  The  priests  and  ministers,  in  turn,  became 
agents  for  the  Transatlantic  Trust  Company,  wliich,  in  the 
words  of  one  of  the  witnesses,  "used  them  as  drummers  and 
paid  them  a  commission  to  get  immigrant  savings  to  export." 
This  money,  after  its  return  to  the  home  country,  was  used 
by  the  returned  immigrants  to  purchase  land.  The  effect 
was  to  increase  enormously  the  price  of  farm  land  in  Hungary. 
"Land  which  sold,  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago,  for  $50 
an  acre,  is  selling,  or  was  selling  just  before  the  war,  for  $500 
an  acre."  In  this  way  emigration  has  become  for  Hungary, 
as  it  has  for  Italy,  a  national  speculation. 

The  control  which  the  Hungarian  government  exercised 
directly  over  its  churches,  by  the  payment  of  salaries  to  the 
priests  and  ministers,  was  exercised  indirectly  over  the  Hun- 
garian press  through  the  medium  of  the  advertising  for  which 
they  were  indebted  to  the  Transatlantic  Trust  Company. 
Pirnitzer,  in  one  year,  spent  $120,000  in  advertisements  in 
foreign-language  papers  and  in  printed  circulars.  In  1015  he 
had  1,005  "confidential  agents"  in  the  Hungarian  colonies 
throughout  the  United  States. 

^  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  vol.  ii,  p.  2816. 
420 


go\t:rnment  inter\^ntion 

A  letter  to  Count  Tisza,  Prime  Minister  of  Hungary,  assures 
him  that  the  friendly  relation  of  the  Transatlantic  Trust 
Company  with  prominent  American-Magyar  papers  "will 
become  still  more  intimate  in  the  future,  and  that  it  will  be 
possible  after  a  while  to  put  the  American-Magj^ar  press 
entirely  into  the  service  of  the  institution."  ^ 

The  relation  of  the  Austrian  and  Hungarian  papers 
published  in  this  country  to  their  home  government 
was  apparent.  There  was,  among  the  various  immi- 
grants from  Austria  and  Hungary,  no  very  genuine 
loyalty  to  the  empire.  The  peoples  of  Austria-Hungary 
were  much  more  concerned  with  their  racial  and  terri- 
torial animosities  than  they  were  with  the  perpetuation 
of  the  empire. 

The  Hungarian  government  was  able  to  control  the 
Magj-ar  papers  because  there  was  a  strong  nationalist 
sentiment  among  the  Magj'ar  people  which  was  iden- 
tified with  the  Hungarian  government.  With  the  other 
peoples  the  situation  was  indifferent.  Most  of  the 
Croatian  papers  were,  as  Mr.  Pirnitzer  remarks  in  his 
letter  to  the  directorate  of  the  Transatlantic  Trust 
Company  in  Budapest,  antistate,  even  before  America's 
entrance  into  the  war.  After  America  entered,  the  few 
editors  who  sold  their  columns  to  the  enemy  were  com- 
pletely ostracized  and  exercised  little  or  no  influence 
upon  the  masses  of  the  people. 

THE  COURSE  OF  ENEMT  PROPAGANDA 

German  propaganda  was  not,  of  course,  confined  to 
the  foreign  born  and  the  immigrant  press.  American 
public  opinion  was  the  objective,  of  which  immigrant 
opinion  was  only  a  part.  The  activities  of  German 
agents  in  the  United  States  ranged  from  incendiarism 
and   blowing   up   munition   ships,    to   organizing   the 

^  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  62,  vol.  ii,  p.  2888. 
421 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Friends  of  Peace  and  other  antimllitarist  movements. 
So  far  as  the  German  agents  in  the  United  States  were 
concerned,  no  clear  distinction  between  incendiarism, 
criminal  violence,  and  propaganda  was  ever  made  in 
the  instructions  contained  in  the  War  Book  of  the  Ger- 
man General  Staff. 

Dr.  Heinrich  Albert  and  the  German  High  Commis- 
sion arrived  in  the  United  States  August  15,  1914. 
This  was  days  after  the  declaration  of  war.  There 
were  thirty-one  persons  in  the  party  and  they,  together 
with  Dr.  Bernard  Dernberg,  who  came  to  America 
about  the  same  time,  constituted,  so  to  speak,  the  gen- 
eral staff  of  Germany's  propaganda  campaign  in  the 
United  States.  Doctor  Dernberg,  former  German 
Colonial  Secretary,  was  the  head  of  the  mission,  and 
Doctor  Albert,  whose  official  position  was  that  of  com- 
mercial attache  to  the  embassy,  was  the  financial  repre- 
sentative and  paymaster. 

A  German  information  bureau  was  established  at 
1123  Broadway  under  charge  of  M.  B.  Claussen,  pub- 
licity agent  of  the  Hamburg-American  Line.  Doctor 
Dernberg  constituted  himself  a  sort  of  unofficial  am- 
bassador to  the  American  people  and  for  several  months, 
up  to  the  time  of  the  sinking  of  the  Lusitania,  traveled 
about  the  country  delivering  lectures  and  permitting 
himself  to  be  interviewed  by  individuals  and  the  press 
on  the  subject  of  the  war.  After  June,  1915,  he  deliv- 
ered a  lecture  in  Cleveland  justifying  the  sinking  of  the 
Lusitania,  when  there  was  such  an  outcry  from  the 
public  that  our  government  suggested  to  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  German  government  that  he  go  home. 
After  that  Doctor  Albert  had  full  charge  of  the  German 
propaganda  in  this  country  until  the  declaration  of 
war,  April,  1917. 

German  propaganda,  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  term, 
followed  four  main  fines,  with  the  following  objectives: 

422 


GOVERNMENT  INTERVENTION 

(1)  To  prevent  the  shipment  of  munitions  to  the  Allies; 

(2)  to  spread  pacifism;  (3)  to  convert  American  public 
opinion  to  the  German  point  of  view;  and  (4)  to  pro- 
mote dissension  among  various  elements  of  the  popu- 
lation. 

For  the  double  purpose  of  preventing  munition  ship- 
ments and  of  fostering  the  peace  sentiment,  German 
propaganda  either  organized  through  its  agents  or  sup- 
ported with  its  funds  the  American  Embargo  Confer- 
ence, the  Friends  of  Peace,  the  American  Neutrality 
League,  the  American  Inter-Independence  Union,  the 
American  Truth  Society,  and  Labor's  National  Peace 
Council.  Labor's  National  Peace  Council  was  organ- 
ized under  the  direction  of  the  notorious  David  Lamar, 
the  "wolf  of  Wall  Street,"  and  is  reported  to  have  cost 
the  German  government  not  less  than  $500,000.^  Be- 
fore America  entered  the  war,  it  was  this  exploitation 
of  the  peace  sentiment  that  best  served  the  purposes  of 
the  German  government  in  this  country. 

There  was  a  serious  attempt  made  to  educate  the 
American  people  to  an  appreciation  of  the  German 
point  of  view.  For  this  purpose  it  was  deemed  neces- 
sary to  own  a  paper  published  in  English.  Nego- 
tiations were  set  on  foot  to  secure  possession  of  the 
New  York  Sun  and  the  Washington  Post,  and  even- 
tually the  Daily  Mail,  New  York,  was  purchased  at  a 
cost  of  $750,000.  The  Daihj  Mail  cost  the  German 
government,  in  addition  to  the  original  purchase  price 
of  $750,000,  something  like  $600,000  for  maintenance 
during  the  brief  period  in  which  it  served  as  its  organ. 

Several  smaller  publications  were  secured,  among 
these  the  Fatherland,  edited  by  George  Sylvester  Vie- 
reck,  and  Fair  Play,  pubhshed  in  Washington,  D,  C, 
by  Marcus  Braun. 


^  SL\ty-sixth  Congress,  Senate  Document  no.  66,  pp.  1572-1573. 
423 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

A  film  company  was  organized  to  distribute  German 
war  and  "educational"  films,  but  the  public  would  not 
take  the  educational  films  and  the  war  scenes  did  not 
seem  to  make  friends  for  Germany. 

It  was  recognized  very  early  that  "public  opinion 
here  [in  America]  cannot  be  influenced  in  any  substan- 
tial way  through  the  press,"  and  that  "through  direct 
bribery  there  is  nothing  to  be  done."  It  was  therefore 
urged  that  "one  can  work  on  reporters  (the  so-called 
ship  reporters  who  interview  the  new  arrivals)  and 
with  the  smaller  editors  who  edit  the  cable  news  and 
the  headlines."  ^ 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  number  of  correspondents, 
particularly  of  the  Hearst  papers,  which  were  tradi- 
tionally anti-English,  were  in  the  pay  of  the  German 
government.  The  most  notable  example  was  William 
Bayard  Hale,  who,  as  head  and  adviser  of  the  German 
Information  (Press)  Bureau  from  December,  1914,  to 
December,  1915,  received  a  salary  of  $15,000,  and  was 
confidential  agent  of  the  German  embassy  in  Washing- 
ton at  the  time  he  went  abroad  to  represent  the  Hearst 
syndicate. 

This  part  of  the  German  propaganda  seems  to  have 
been  a  disappointment.  In  a  cipher  dispatch,  dated 
October  29,  1916,  and  addressed  to  the  German  Foreign 
Office,  Ambassador  Bernstorff  made  a  statement,  seem- 
ingly based  on  bitter  experience: 

The  fact  of  an  American  newspap>er  being  subsidized  can 
never  be  kept  secret,  because  there  is  no  reticence  in  this 
country.  It  always  ends  in  my  beuig  held  responsible  for  all 
the  articles  of  any  such  newspaper.^ 

The  success  of  the  whole  German  psychic  attack 
upon  the  United  States  was  wrecked,  as  Bernstorff 

^  SLxty-sixth  Congress,  First  Session,  Senate  Document  no.  62, 
p.  1392.  2  Ibid.,  p.  1481. 

424 


GOVERNMENT  INTERVENTION 

admits  in  a  message  to  the  German  Foreign  Office, 
dated  November  1,  1916,  by  the  length  of  the  war,  and 
because  in  America  "there  is  no  reticence"  and  "every- 
thing becomes  known." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  many  things  were  imdertaken 
by  the  Dernberg  propaganda  which  woukl  never  have  been 
imdertaken  if  we  could  have  seen  that  the  war  would  be  so 
long,  because  nothing  can,  for  long,  be  kept  secret  in  America. 
Since  the  Lusitania  case,  we  have  strictly  confined  ourselves 
to  such  propaganda  as  cannot  hurt  us  if  it  becomes  known. 
The  sole  exception  is  perhaps  the  peace  propaganda,  which 
has  cost  the  largest  amount,  but  which  has  been  also  the  most 
successful.' 

On  the  whole,  as  the  war  progressed,  the  strategy  of 
the  enemy  propagandists  in  America  sought  rather  to 
promote  dissension  among  the  heterogeneous  elements 
of  the  American  population  than  to  win  sjTnpathy  for 
the  German  cause. 

The  public  mind,  to  the  trained  propagandist,  is  a  pool 
into  which  phrases  and  thoughts  are  dropped  like  acids,  with 
a  fore-knowledge  of  the  reactions  that  will  take  place;  just 
as  Professor  Loeb  at  the  Rockefeller  Institute  can  make  a 
thousand  crustaceans  stop  swimming  aimlessly  about  in  the 
bowl  and  rush  with  one  headlong  impulse  to  the  side  where 
the  light  comes  from,  merely  by  introducing  into  the  water 
a  little  drop  of  chemical. 

We  do  not  know  how  successful  German  propaganda  has 
been  in  this  country.  We  shall  never  know.  But  it  is  noto- 
rious that  the  German  government's  agents  have  shrewdly 
exploited  internal  distractions  and  disaffections.  They  have 
fanned  the  Irish  question.  They  probably  helped  to  finance 
the  Sinn  Fein  row,  which,  by  the  way,  stopped  very 
abruptly  when  criminal  prosecutions  started.  They  have 
sought  to  inflame  the  Negro  in  his  grievance.     They  have 

*  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  First  Session,  Senate  Document  no.  62, 
p.  1494. 

425 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

helped  revive  the  ancient  feud  between  the  A.  P.  A.  and  the 
Catholic  Church.  They  have  procured  to  be  printed  in 
American  papers,  editorials  that  could  be  quoted  in  Mexico 
to  prove  the  Americans  perfidious  in  their  intentions  toward 
that  country.  They  have  widely  and  very  adroitly  suggested 
Japan  to  the  American  imagination  in  an  extremely  sinister 
light.  They  have  sown  dark  thoughts  against  our  allies, 
especially  Great  Britain  and  Italy.  They  have  assisted  to 
spread  the  capitalistic  idea  of  war  among  the  radicals.  They 
have  most  efBciently  sustained  a  large  body  of  pacifist  opinion 
in  the  country,  disguised  latterly  as  opinion  for  a  diplomatic 
peace. 

This  is  not  to  say  that  the  German  propagandist  ever  posi- 
tively originated  anj'thing.  He  is  not  so  stupid.  His  business 
is  to  work  with  the  elements,  materials,  and  conditions,  al- 
ready existing,  and  shape  and  develop  them  scientifically.  He 
did  not  invent  the  Negro  problem.  He  has  only  exploited  it. 
So  with  everj'thing.^ 

There  is  no  evidence  to  prove  that  a  single  Socialist 
paper  was  subsidized  by  the  enemy — the  Socialist  and 
radical  press  were  opposed  to  the  war  on  principle — 
but  the  myth,  so  sedulously  cultivated  in  the  Socialist 
press,  that  this  was  a  capitalist  war,  was  enemy 
propaganda. 

Even  pacifists,  who  professed  to  abhor  war  in  every 
form,  did  not  escape  participation  in  the  conflict  when 
they  assumed  the  role  of  agitators.  The  sermons  of 
the  Rev.  John  Haynes  Holmes,  pastor  of  the  Church 
of  the  Messiah  in  New  York  City,  collected  and  trans- 
ported into  Germany,  furnished  the  General  Staff  with 
ammunition  against  the  Allies.  The  British  Fifth  Army 
was  bombarded  with  these  sermons  shortly  before  the 
first  great  German  offensive  of  March  21,  1918,  in 
which  the  Fifth  Army  gave  way  with  disastrous  re- 
sults.    Copies  of  these  sermons  are  preserved  among 

1  New  York  Tribune,  Editorial,  July  12,  1918. 
426 


GOVERNMENT  INTERVENTION 

records   of  the   Military   Intelligence  Branch   of  the 
General  Staff  at  Washington. 


DISSENSIONS   AMONG   RACIAL   GROUPS 

In  addition  to  this  peace  propaganda  there  was  an 
effort  to  stir  the  racial  animosities  of  immigrant  peo- 
ples. This  effort  dealt  particularly  with  the  immigrant 
press.  The  attitude  of  the  press  was  largely  determined 
by  national  sympathies  and  historical  traditions:  Ger- 
mans were  for  Germany,  Jews  were  for  Jews.  WTiere 
these  heritages  were  in  conflict  with  the  national  Ameri- 
can spirit,  the  will  to  win  the  war  was  weakened. 
Where,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Serbians,  Poles,  and  Bo- 
hemians, the  immigrant  and  American  heritages  formed 
a  natural  alliance,  the  American  national  spirit  was 
broadened  and  intensified.  The  German  propagandists 
played  with  all  these  heritages  and  the  interests  repre- 
sented by  them.    That  was  the  game. 

The  Indian  nationalist  movement  was  promoted  in 
America  with  German  funds.  A  newspaper  called 
Gadho  {Mutiny)  edited  by  Har  Dyal,  an  Oxford  grad- 
uate and  lecturer  at  Leland  Stanford  University,  was 
published  in  California.  Eventually,  an  expeditionary 
force  actually  set  sail  for  India  in  August,  1914. 

Dr.  Isaac  Strauss  was  brought  from  Germany  for 
the  special  purpose  of  influencing  the  Jewish  press. 
A  confidential  letter  to  Doctor  Albert,  dated  October 
20,  191-t,  makes  the  statement  that  "the  manipulation 
of  the  Jewish  press  in  America,  formerly  casual,  has 
now  been  changed  into  a  regular  systematic  information 
service,"  and  in  confirmation  of  the  necessity  of  this 
service  an  article  from  the  Jewish  Warheit  is  inclosed. 
An  effort  was  made  a  Httle  later  to  purchase  the 
Warheit. 

The  Irish  propaganda  was  carried  on  under  the  direc- 
28  •i^^ 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

tion  of  James  K.  McGuire,  who  organized  the  Irish 
press  and  news  service  for  the  Germans.  McGuire  was 
the  owner  of  the  Light,  Albany,  New  York,  the  Truth, 
Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Sun,  Syracuse,  New 
York,  and  the  National  Catholic.  Through  a  news 
service  organized  by  him,  McGuire  was  supplying  news 
service  two  or  three  times  a  week  to  eighteen  or  twenty 
papers.  All  of  this  machinery  was  put  at  the  service 
of  the  German  propaganda. 

Some  effort  was  made,  also,  in  the  early  stages  of  the 
war,  to  exploit  the  discontent  of  the  Negroes  in  the 
United  States,  but  without  definite  results. 

There  is  very  little  evidence  to  show  that  the  German- 
American  papers  were  influenced  to  any  extent  by 
money.  So  far  as  they  supported  the  German  cause 
either  before  or  after  America  declared  war,  they  did 
so  out  of  loyalty  to  the  home  country  and  in  response 
to  a  long-cherished  and  continually  nourished  animosity 
to  England. 

The  only  German-American  paper  that  is  known  to  have 
received,  directly  or  indirectly,  financial  aid  from  the  German 
government,  was  the  New  York  Staats-Zeitung.  Herman 
Ridder,  the  owner  and  publisher  of  the  Staats-Zeitung,  died 
in  1915.  At  the  time  of  his  death  the  paper  was  burdened 
with  a  debt  of  $300,000.  The  paper  had  been,  before  America 
went  to  war,  the  unofficial  organ  of  the  German  government, 
in  its  relation  to  the  German-American  in  this  country.  Ac- 
cording to  the  testimony  of  Bruce  Bielaski,  Captain  Boy-ed, 
German  naval  attache  at  Washington,  was  constantly  in 
communication  widi  the  editors  of  the  Staats-Zeitung,  com- 
menting on  what  was  written,  and  making  suggestions  as  to 
what  should  be  WTitten,  even  going  so  far  as  to  tell  the  editor 
in  one  of  his  messages  that  the  editorials  should  be  made 
shorter  and  printed  in  larger  type.  Tlie  only  funds  the  paper 
is  known  to  have  received  from  the  German  government  was 
$15,000,  to  which  Adolph  Pavenstadt,  a  wealthy  German  who 
had  lived  in  this  country  since  1876,  added  $5,000.     "I  ex- 

428 


GOVERNMENT  INTER\TNTION 

pected,"  Pavenstadt  is  reported  to  have  said,  "that  if  the 
business  were  bankrupt,  it  would  be  lost  to  the  Ridders,  who 
have  always  followed  a  very  good  course  for  German  interests 
here."  ^ 

The  German  immigrant  press  maintained,  for  the 
most  part,  an  attitude  of  sullen  silence  in  regard  to  the 
purposes  of  the  war,  after  America  entered  the  con- 
flict. It  found,  however,  in  the  news  items  and  edi- 
torials of  the  native  press  materials  to  justify  its 
prepossessions. 

Efforts  were  made,  particularly  by  Austria,  to  pro- 
mote dissensions  among  the  different  racial  groups  in 
America,  especially  among  the  Poles  and  Jugoslavs. 
This  was  merely  an  application  to  America  of  the  rule 
"divide  and  conquer,"  bj'-  which  Austria  had  ruled  its 
turbulent  nationalities  in  Europe.  The  most  promis- 
ing enterprise  planned  or  undertaken  by  German 
propagandists  through  the  medium  of  the  foreign- 
language  press  was  the  fomenting  of  strikes  in  tlie 
munition  plants  at  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Bridgeport,  Connecticut.  In  the  dispatches  of  the 
Austrian  Ambassador  Dumba  to  Baron  von  Burian, 
which  were  taken  from  the  American  correspondent 
James  F.  J.  Archibald,  and  which  resulted  in  the  Aus- 
trian ambassador's  recall,  there  was  a  memorandum 
prepared  by  William  Warne,  who  was  at  that  time  a 
writer  for  the  foreign-language  press.  This  document 
describes  in  some  detail  how  he  proposed  to  use  the 
Hungarian  papers  to  foment  industrial  disorders  and, 
as  he  had  already  had  experience  in  this  sort  of  work, 
his  testimony  as  to  how  the  thing  is  actually  done  is 
interesting  and  valuable. 


1  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  First  Session,  Senate  Document  no.  62, 
Drcicing  and  Liquor  Interests  and  German  and  Bolshmk  Propaganda. 
Report  and  Hearings  of  the  Subcommittee  on  the  Judiciary,  United 
Stales  Senate,  vol.  ii,  pp.  1569-1571. 

429 


THE  IMIVnGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

I  must  divide  the  matter  into  two  parts — the  Bethlehem, 
and  the  Middle  West  business,  but  the  point  of  departure  is 
common  to  both — viz.,  press  agitation,  which  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  as  regards  our  Hungarian-American  workmen, 
and  by  means  of  the  press  we  can  reach  botli  Bethlehem  and 
the  West.  In  my  opinion,  we  must  start  a  very  strong  agita- 
tion on  this  question  in  the  Freedom  {Szahadsag) ,  a  leading 
organ,  with  respect  to  tlie  Bethlehem  works  and  the  condi- 
tions there.  This  can  be  done  in  two  ways,  and  both  must 
be  utilized.  In  the  first  place,  a  regular  daily  section  must  be 
regularly  conducted  against  these  indescribably  degrading 
conditions.  The  Freedom  has  already  done  something  similar 
in  the  recent  past,  when  the  strike  movement  began  at 
Bridgeport.  It  must  naturally  take  the  form  of  strong, 
deliberate,  decided,  and  courageous  action.  Secondly,  the 
WTiter  of  these  lines  would  begin  a  labor  novel  in  that  news- 
paper much  on  the  lines  of  Upton  Sinclair's  celebrated  story, 
and  this  might  be  published  in  other  local  Hungarian,  Slovak, 
and  German  newspapers  also.  Here  we  arrive  at  the  point 
that  naturally  we  shall  also  require  other  newspapers.  The 
American-Magyar  Nepszava  {Word  of  the  People)  will  un- 
doubtedly be  compelled  willingly  or  unwillingly  to  foUow  the 
movement  initiated  by  the  Freedom  (Szabadsag),  for  it  will 
be  pleasing  to  the  entire  Hungarian  element  in  America,  and 
an  absolute  patriotic  act  to  which  that  open  journal,  the 
Nepszava,  could  not  adopt  a  hostile  attitude. 

Of  course,  it  is  another  question  to  what  extent  and  with 
what  energy  and  devotion  that  newspaper  would  adhere  to 
this  course  of  action  without  regard  to  other  influences,  just 
as  it  is  questionable  to  what  extent  the  otlier  local  patriotic 
papers  would  go.  There  is  great  reason  why,  in  spite  of  their 
patriotism,  the  American-Hungarian  papers  have  hitherto 
shrunk  from  initiating  such  action.  The  position  is  as  fol- 
lows :  To  start  with,  the  Szabadsag,  which  to-day  is  one  of  the 
greatest,  in  every  respect,  of  the  papers  printed  in  a  foreign 
language  in  America,  has  already  made  gigantic  sacrifices 
from  a  patriotic  point  of  view.  Others  have  only  a  faint  idea 
of  the  magnitude  of  tlie  homeward  migration  that  will  take 
place  directly  after  the  termination  of  the  war,  whereas  the 

430 


GOVERNIVIENT  INTER\TNT10N 

Hungarian  papers  have  direct  and  better  opportunities  of 
observing  the  shadow  which  that  gigantic  migration  home- 
ward always  casts  before  it.  It  is  the  fact  that  the  paper 
alone  used  by  the  Szabadsag,  for  example,  in  printing  only 
those  copies  which  go  to  subscribers  who  are  in  arrears  with 
their  subscriptions,  costs  at  least  $1,000  a  month,  while  the 
actual  cost  of  the  paper  does  not  amount  to  more  than  $3,500. 
In  view  of  this  fact  that  one-third  of  the  total  subscribers  get 
the  paper  for  nothing,  or  at  all  events  on  credit,  you  can  see 
what  a  patriotic  action  this  newspaper  is  performing.  Natu- 
rally, under  such  circumstances  you  can  hardly  expect  that 
such  a  paper  should  go  much  further  in  the  way  of  violent 
agitation  which  would  have  the  result  of  making  their  sub- 
scribers now  in  regular  work  unable  to  meet  their  subscrip- 
tions; as,  for  example,  the  Botlilehem  workers.  I  have  long 
been  wishing  to  start  a  direct  movement  in  that  paper,  but 
the  above  viewpoint  made  us  hold  our  hand. 

The  position  of  affairs  is  much  the  same  with  the  American- 
Hungarian  Nepszava  as  you  might  conclude  from  the  special 
appeal  addressed  by  the  eclitor  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  to 
his  readers.  The  local  Hungarian  papers  also  suflFer  from  the 
fact  that  a  part  of  their  subscribers  are  in  arrears  with  their 
subscriptions,  as  they  are  out  of  work,  while  others  are  slow 
in  paying  because  they  want  to  go  back  to  Hungary.  To 
what  extent  this  intention  of  migrating  homeward  influences 
the  whole  matter  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  at  present  very 
many  only  pay  their  subscriptions  for  a  quarter  of  a  year  in 
advance,  contrary  to  tlieir  previous  custom,  for  they  think 
that  the  war  will  be  over  before  the  end  of  the  quarter.  In 
a  word,  the  shadow  of  the  great  homeward  migration  and,  in 
many  places,  the  bad  condition  of  affairs,  have  brought  the 
American-Hungarian  papers  to  such  a  position  that  they 
must  be  careful  in  all  matters  which  might  cause  them  further 
loss  by  affecting  the  ability  of  their  subscribers  to  pay  their 
subscriptions  in  advance.  Under  these  circiunstances  it  is 
not  only  fair,  but  necessary,  that,  if  we  wish  to  reckon  on  the 
enthusiastic  and  self-sacrificing  support  of  these  papers,  we 
contribute  a  certain  degree  of  support  so  that  they  mav  not 

431 


THE  EVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

suffer  for  their  action,  in  the  interest  of  successful  action  at 
Bethleliem  and  the  Middle  West. 

.  .  .  Besides  tlie  Szabadsag,  the  Nepszava,  tlie  new  daily 
paper  of  Pittsburgh,  must  be  set  in  motion,  and  those  of 
Bridgeport,  Youngstown  District,  etc.,  also  two  Slovak  pa- 
pers. Under  these  circumstances,  the  first  necessity  is  money. 
To  Bethlehem  must  be  sent  as  many  reliable  Hungarian  and 
German  workmen  as  I  can  lay  my  hands  on,  who  will  join  the 
factories  and  begin  their  work  in  secret  among  their  fellow 
workmen.  For  this  purpose  I  have  my  men  Turners  in  Steel- 
work. We  must  send  an  organizer  who,  in  the  interests  of 
the  union,  will  begin  the  business  in  his  own  way.  We  must 
also  send  so-called  soap-box  orators  who  will  know  how  to 
start  a  useful  agitation.  We  shall  want  money  for  popular 
meetings  and  possibly  for  organizing  picnics.  In  general,  the 
same  principles  apply  to  the  Middle  West.  I  am  thinking  of 
Pittsburgh  and  Cleveland  in  the  first  instance,  as  to  which 
I  could  give  details  only  if  I  were  to  return  and  spend  at  least 
a  few  days  there. 

.  .  .  Finally,  I  make  bold  to  point  out  the  fact  that  hitherto 
I  have  said  nothing  on  the  subject  to  anyone  connected  with 
the  newspapers,  and  am  in  the  fortunate  position  that,  in  the 
case  of  giving  effect  to  this  plan,  I  can  make  use  of  other 
names  in  the  case  of  necessity,  for  I  have  already  in  other 
matters  made  payments  through  other  individuals.  In  any 
event,  in  case  of  newspapers,  the  greatest  circumspection  is 
necessary,  and  no  one  but  the  proprietors  must  know  that 
money  is  coming  to  the  undertaking  from  any  source. ^ 

During  the  investigation  of  German  propaganda  in 
the  United  States,  A.  Bruce  Bielaski,  of  the  U.  S. 
Attorney-Generars  office,  introduced  a  memorandum 
based  on  photographic  copies  in  the  possession  of  the 
department,  showing  certain  other  payments  by  Aus- 
tria to  foreign-language  papers.  This  memorandum  is 
by  no  means  complete,  but  it  is  interesting  as  showing 

^  Sixty-sixtd  Congress,  First  Session,  Senate  Document  no.  62, 
Brewing  and  Liquor  Interests  and  German  and  Bolshevik  Propaganda, 
pp.  14G6-14CS.     Memorandum  by  William  Warne. 

432 


GOVERNISIENT  INTERVENTION 

the  amount  and  character  of  the  subsidies  paid  to 
certain  minor  and  relatively  unimportant  papers. 

Bielasld  Exhibit  No.  135 

Desteaptate  Romane — Rumanian  paper — New  York  City. 

On  September  16,  1915,  E.  Zwiedinek,  of  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Embassy,  wrote  the  Consulate  General  in  New 
York  City,  inclosing  check  for  $-400  to  be  paid  this  paper, 
and  requested  that  a  receipt  be  sent  for  the  $200  which  had 
been  previously  paid  this  paper. 

Ilhistrovarii  List — New  York  City. 

On  January  10,  191C,  E.  Zwiedinek,  of  the  Austro-Hun- 
garian  Embassy,  wrote  the  Consulate  General,  New  York 
City,  and  instructed  him  to  pay  Si 00  per  month  in  February 
and  March,  1916,  to  this  paper.  Instructions  were  also  given 
that  $100  per  montli  be  paid  tliis  paper  up  to  July,  1916,  if 
the  subsidy  was  needed. 

Krajan — Slavish  Weekly — 319  East  Seventy-first  Street, 
New  York  City. 

The  Austro-Hungarian  Embassy  on  September  3,  1915, 
sent  the  Consulate  General  at  New  York  City  $250,  to  be 
paid  tliis  paper. 

Telegram  Codrienny — Polish  paper — New  York  City. 

On  November  5,  1915,  the  Vice  Consul,  New  York  City, 
WTote  the  Austro-Hungarian  Embassy  that  the  subsidy  of 
$700  granted  to  the  above  paper  had  been  paid  in  full.' 

When  the  United  States  entered  the  war,  the  Post 
OflBce  Department  and  the  Committee  on  Public  In- 
formation undertook,  in  the  interest  of  the  national 
cause,  to  deal  with  the  press  in  general,  and  incident- 
ally with  the  foreign-language  press.    The  purpose  of 

1  Sixty-sixth  Congress,  First  Session,  Senate  Document  no.  62, 
Brewing  and  Liquor  Interests  and  German  and  Bolshevik  Propaganda, 
p.  158G. 

433 


THE  I^IMIGRiVNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

the  post  oflSce  was  mainly  negative,  to  repress  enemy 
propaganda.  The  purpose  of  the  Committee  on  Public 
Information  was  mainly  positive,  to  strengthen  the 
national  morale. 


CONTROL  THROUGH   THE   POST  OFFICE 

Previous  to  the  war  the  United  States  had  very  little 
experience  with  the  difficulties  of  government  control 
of  the  press.  Such  control  as  it  did  exercise  was  always 
in  the  interest  of  individuals,  never  in  tlie  interest  of 
the  government.  It  was  not  anticipated  that  the  gov- 
ernment would  ever  need  protection  from  anything 
that  anyone  could  say  or  anything  that  a  newspaper 
would  publish.  It  was  only  slowly  that  the  notion 
gained  recognition  that,  under  the  conditions  of  mod- 
ern life,  propaganda  which  provoked  dissensions  was  a 
mode  of  warfare.  \Miat  made  the  situation  still  more 
difficult  was  the  fact  that  in  practice  there  was  no  clear 
distinction  between  enemy  propaganda  and  the  or- 
dinary expression  of  the  independent  American  citizen 
exercising,  in  his  customary  hearty  manner,  his  tradi- 
tional right  freely  to  criticize  a  government  which  he 
did,  nevertheless,  support.  It  was  necessary  to  meet 
this  emergency,  to  provide  new  legislation,  and  incul- 
cate in  the  people  a  new  habit  of  restraint. 

Actually,  the  post  office,  in  its  efforts  to  curb  enemy 
propaganda  operated  under  Section  3,  Title  I,  of  the 
Espionage  Act  of  June  15,  1917: 

Excerpt  from  the  Espionage  bill.  Act  of  June  15, 
1917: 

Title  I 

Espionage 

Section  3.  WTioever,  when  the  United  States  is  at  war, 
shall  willfully  make  or  convey  false  reports  or  false  statements 

434 


go\t:rnment  intervention 

with  intent  to  interfere  with  the  operation  or  success  of  the 
military  or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States  or  to  promote 
the  success  of  its  enemies,  and  whoever,  when  the  United 
States  is  at  war,  shall  willfully  cause  or  attempt  to  cause 
insubordination,  disloyalty,  mutiny,  or  refusal  of  duty,  in 
the  miUtary  or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States,  or  shall  will- 
fully obstruct  the  recruiting  or  enlistment  service  of  the 
United  States,  to  the  injury  of  the  service  or  of  the  United 
States,  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  $10,000 
or  imprisonment  for  not  more  than  20  years,  or  both. 

This  law  was  made  applicable  to  the  Post  OflSce  De- 
partment by  a  clause  which  provided  that: 

Title  XII 

Use  of  Mails 

Section  1.  Every  letter,  WTiting,  circular,  postal  card, 
picture,  print,  engraving,  photograph,  newspaper,  pamphlet, 
book,  or  other  publication,  matter,  or  tiling,  of  any  kind,  in 
violation  of  any  of  tlie  provisions  of  this  Act,  is  hereby  de- 
clared to  be  nonmailable  matter  and  shall  not  be  conveyed 
in  the  mails  or  delivered  from  any  post  office  or  by  any  letter 
carrier:  Provided,  That  nothing  in  this  Act  shall  be  so  con- 
structed as  to  authorize  any  person  other  than  an  employee 
of  the  Dead  Lrctter  Office,  duly  authorized  thereto,  or  other 
person  upon  a  search  warrant  authorized  by  law,  to  open  any 
letter  not  addressed  to  himself. 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  so-called  censorship  of  the 
Post  Office  Department.  Actually  there  was  not,  and 
never  has  been,  a  censorship  of  the  press  in  the  United 
States.  No  papers  were  actually  suppressed  by  this 
Department  during  the  war,  though  some  of  them 
were  greatly  discouraged.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  if 
reports  of  the  Department  of  Justice  are  correct,  there 

are  at  least  twice  as  many  radical  papers  in  existence 

435 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

to-day   as   tliere   were   before   or   during   the   World 
War.i 

There  are  222  radical  newspapers  published  in  foreign 
languages  in  this  country  at  the  present  time,  and  105 
radical  newspapers  published  in  the  English  language. 
In  addition,  144  radical  newspapers  published  in  foreign 
countries  are  received  and  distributed  to  subscribers 
here.  This  number  does  not  include  the  hundreds  of 
books,  pamphlets,  and  other  publications  which  also 
receive  wide  circulation,  many  of  them  published  in 
foreign  languages.  The  number  of  these  radical  pub- 
lications, and  the  language  in  which  they  are  printed, 
follows: 

TABLE  XX 

Number  of  Radical  Publications  in  Foreign  Languages 


Jewish 20 

Lettish 11 

Lithuanian 15 

Polish 7 

Portuguese 1 

Rumanian 16 

Slovenian 8 

Spanish 8 

Swedish 6 

LTcrainian 8 

Yiddish 15 


Armenian 1 

Bohemian 9 

Bulgarian 3 

Croatian 4 

Danish 4 

Esthonian 1 

Finnish 11 

French 1 

German 21 

Greek 2 

Hungarian 23 

Italian 27 

Total 222 

Papers  published  in  foreign  countries 144 

English  papers  in  the  United  States 105 

Total 249 

Grand  Total 471 

^  Investigation  Activities  of  the  Department  of  Justice;  a  letter 
from  the  Attorney-General  transmitting  a  report  against  persona 
advising  anarchy,  sedition,  and  the  overthrow  of  the  government, 
November  17,  1919. 

436 


governjVient  inter\t:ntion 

There  were  in  1918,  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained,  no 
more  than  65  radical  foreign-language  papers  as  against 
22'2  reported  by  the  Department  of  Justice  in  1920. 
Actually,  the  discrepancy  is  probably  not  as  great  as 
the  figures  indicate.  It  seems  likely  that  a  good  many 
of  the  ii'Z  papers  recorded  as  "radical"  represent  the 
same  papers  under  different  names,  or  they  represent 
papers  that  died  young.  It  is  also  probably  true  that 
the  figures  for  1918  are  not  so  complete  as  those  for 
1920.  It  is  evident,  at  any  rate,  that  the  radical  immi- 
grant papers  have  not  been  suppressed.  ^Vhat  the 
Post  Office  Department  actually  did  was  to  apply  to  the 
press  publishing  enemy  propaganda  the  same  method 
of  procedure  which  it  formerly  used  agairvst  newspapers 
publishing  fraudulent  advertisements.  It  forbade  those 
papers  the  use  of  the  second-class  mailing  privilege. 

The  law  giving  the  Post  OflSce  Department  authority  to 
deny  privilege  of  the  mails  to  certain  newspapers  has  grown 
up  in  connection  with  the  efforts  of  tlie  government  to  sup- 
press lotteries  and  to  protect  the  public  against  fraud.  The 
Act  of  September  19,  1890,  prohibited  tlie  circulation  through 
the  mails  of  newspapers  containing  advertisements  of  a  lot- 
tery or  gift  enterprise  of  any  sort.  Under  the  ruling  of  the 
department  the  press  is  not  permitted  to  print  the  result  of 
the  drawing  of  lotteries  even  as  nev.s  items,  and  this  ruling 
has  been  seldom  contested  in  the  courts,  because  a  news  item, 
giving  tlie  result  of  a  drawing,  is  a  better  advertisement  of 
the  lottery  than  an  advertisement  that  is  recognized  as  such.* 

This  law  has  been  attacked  on  the  ground  that  it  was  an 
infringement  of  the  freetlom  of  the  press.  It  was  argued  ia 
the  Supreme  Court  in  May,  1878,  in  the  case  of  Orlando 
Jackson,  "that  Congress  has  no  power  to  prohibit  the  trans- 
mission of  intelligence,  public  or  private,  through  the  mails; 
and  any  statute  which  distingui.shes  mailable  from  unmailable 
matter  merely  by  the  nature  of  the  intelligence  offered  for  trans- 

*  See  John  L.  Thomas,  Lotteries,  Frauds  and  Obscenity  in  the  Mails, 
Columbia,  Missouri,  1900,  p.  224. 

437  J 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

mission,  is  an  iinconstitutional  enactment.'^  In  reply,  the 
Court  said  that  "in  excludinj?  various  articles  from  the  mails 
the  object  of  Congress  was  not  to  interfere  with  the  freedom 
of  the  press,  but  to  refuse  its  facilities  for  the  distribution  of 
matter  deemed  injurious  to  public  morals."  ^ 

This  ruling  was  confirmed  by  a  later  and  decisive 
case,  in  which  it  was  contended  that  the  laws  under 
which  the  department  operates  were  an  abridgment 
of  the  freedom  of  the  press  and  established  in  the  Post 
Office  Department  a  newspaper  censorship  since  "the 
law  which  exchides  a  newspaper  because  it  contains  a 
lottery  advertisement  undoubtedly  censors  the  matter 
contained  in  the  journal  and  it  punishes  its  editor  on 
account  of  the  matter  so  published,  if  the  deprivation 
of  a  common  right  be  a  punishment." 

The  court  held,  however,  the  deprivation  of  the 
privilege  of  the  mails  was  not  a  prohibition  of  the  cir- 
culation of  newspapers  nor  an  abridgment  of  the  free- 
dom of  communication  within  the  intent  and  meaning 
of  the  constitutional  provision.  The  fact  was  simply 
that  the  "government  declines  to  become  an  agent  in 
the  circulation  of  printed  matter  which  it  regards  as 
injurious  to  the  people." 

The  so-called  press  censorship  exercised  by  the  Post 
Office  during  the  World  War  was  in  form,  at  least,  of 
precisely  the  same  nature  as  that  which  it  had  pre- 
viously exercised  since  1890.  The  Espionage  Act 
merely  extended  the  supervision  of  the  department  to 
those  matters  which  were  declared  unlawful  under  that 
Act.  The  Post  Office  refused  its  services  to  persons  en- 
gaged in  enemy  propaganda.  If  this  makes  the  Post- 
master-General a  public  censor,  it  is  not  because,  under 
certain  circumstances,  it  denies  to  certain  papers  the 


^  See  John  L.  Thomas,  Lotteries,  Frauds  and  Obscenity  in  the  Mails, 
Columbia,  Missouri,  1900,  p.  243. 

438 


go\t:rnment  intervention 

sen^ice  of  the  mails,  but  because  the  law  leaves  to  the 
discretion  of  an  administration  officer,  the  Postmaster- 
General,  the  question  what  should  and  what  should 
not  be  regarded  as  enemy  propaganda. 

POST-OFFICE   PROCEDURE 

To  understand  what  this  censorship  amounted  to  in 
practice,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  understand  the 
manner  in  which  it  actually  operated.  In  order  to  con- 
trol the  foreign-language  press  it  was  necessary  to  have 
the  foreign-language  papers  read.  For  this  purpose 
copies  of  all  such  papers  in  the  United  States  were  col- 
lected and  kept  on  file  at  Washington.  A  similar  file, 
covering  particularly  the  papers  published  in  New  York 
City,  was  kept  at  the  Post  Office  in  New  York  City.  A 
force  of  forty  translators,  readers  and  assistants,  was 
maintained  in  Washington  and  New  York  to  read 
these  papers  and  report  on  them.  In  addition  to  this 
the  Post  Office  authorities  had  access  to  the  reports  of 
the  Department  of  Justice  and  to  the  records  of  the 
foreign-language  division  of  the  Committee  of  Pubhc 
Information.  Finally,  a  service  of  voluntary  readers, 
many  of  them  in  the  colleges  and  the  universities  of 
the  country,  was  established.  The  volunteers  were, 
generally,  persons  who  had  special  knowledge  of  the 
languages  and  of  the  local  conditions  in  the  communi- 
ties in  which  certain  papers  were  published. 

As  soon  as  it  became  known  that  the  Post  Office 
was  investigating  the  foreign-language  press,  complaints 
began  to  come  to  the  office  at  Washington  from  all 
parts  of  the  country.  Many  of  these  complaints  were 
the  protests  of  readers  against  what  they  regarded  as 
disloyal  utterances  in  the  press.  Many  more  were  from 
the  publishers  whose  papers  had  been  held  up  by  the 
local  Post  Office  authorities  because  they  had  failed  to 

439 


THE  BEVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

comply  with  Section  19  of  the  Trading  with  the  Enemy 
Act,  which  required  any  paper  pubUshed  in  a  foreign 
language  to  file  a  translation  of  all  its  news  items  and 
editorials  in  which  reference  was  made  to  the  United 
States  government  or  the  conduct  of  the  war. 

\Mien  complaint  was  made  against  a  paper  or  notice 
received  that  a  certain  issue  of  a  paper  had  been  held 
up  as  unmailable,  an  investigation  was  undertaken. 
Sometimes  these  investigations  covered  all  the  files  of 
the  paper  over  a  period  of  several  months.  This  was 
in  order  to  discover,  if  possible,  what  the  consistent 
pohcy  of  the  paper  had  been.  Upon  the  evidence  thus 
obtained,  a  license  to  print  might  be  granted,  or  if  the 
pubhcation  was  regarded  as  "unmailable"  under  the 
Espionage  Act,  it  was  denied  the  use  of  the  second- 
class  mailing  privilege.  As  a  last  resort  a  newspaper 
might  be  denied  the  use  of  the  mails  altogether.  In 
that  case  no  mail  would  be  delivered  to  the  address  of 
the  offending  publication. 

It  is  fair  to  say  that  it  was  rarely  necessary  to  resort 
to  extreme  measures.  In  any  case  the  pubhsher,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  issuance  of  a  fraud  order,  was  never 
denied  the  opportunity  to  be  heard  either  by  mail,  in 
person,  by  agent,  attorney,  or  best  friend.  In  many 
cases  pubhshers  were  given  several  hearings.  "There 
is  probably  no  tribunal  on  earth,"  says  John  L.  Thomas, 
himself  a  former  Assistant  Attorney-General  for  the 
Post  Office,  "where  the  facts  in  cases  affecting  the 
private  rights  of  the  citizen  are  more  thoroughly  in- 
vestigated and  ventilated  than  in  the  Post  Office  De- 
partment."^ 

As  a  matter  of  law,  the  Post  Office  Department  acted 
in  the  matter  of  the  second-class  mailing  privilege  in  a 
purely  administrative  capacity,  denying  the  mails  to 

^  John  L.  Thomas,  Lotteries,  Fraud,  arid  Obscenity  in  the  Mails,  p. 
3^7. 

440 


GOM^RNIVIENT  INTERVENTION 

this  paper  and  granting  it  to  that.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  office  of  the  SoHcitor  for  the  Post  Office  Depart- 
ment, WiUiam  H.  Lamar,  became  during  the  period  of 
the  war  a  special  court  for  the  purpose  of  deahng  with 
the  press.  The  files  of  the  Department  at  Washington 
contain  the  records  of  hundreds  of  hearings  in  which 
immigrant  newspapers  were  given  an  opportunity  to 
answer  the  complaints  against  them.  These  records 
show  that  the  most  searching  examination  was  made 
of  the  character  and  contents  of  the  papers  complained 
of.  They  show  that  the  number  of  foreign  papers 
actually  denied  the  services  of  the  Post  Office  Depart- 
ment were  very  small,  probably  not  more  than  ten.  A 
number  of  newspaper  offices  were,  to  be  sure,  raided 
at  different  times  by  the  Department  of  Justice,  but 
no  papers  were  suppressed  by  the  Post  Office  De- 
partment. 

On  the  other  hand,  from  October  5,  1917,  to  January 
14,  1919,  650  permits  were  issued  to  foreign-language 
papers  in  the  United  States,  allowing  them  to  pubhsh 
without  filing  translations  with  the  Post  Office  De- 
partment. Among  these  were  seventy-four  German 
publications.  With  the  exception  of  the  Jewish  For- 
ward, the  Bohemian  Socialist  papers,  the  Spravedlnost, 
the  Zajny  Lidu,  Hlas  Lidu,  and  the  Obrana — all  Social- 
ist and  radical  papers  were  compelled  to  file  transla- 
tions. This  did  not  mean  that,  except  in  special  in- 
stances, they  were  denied  the  use  of  the  mails;  but 
they  were  on  probation  and  single  issues  were  likely  to 
be  held  up  at  any  time. 

If  the  department  was  convinced,  from  the  whole 
course  of  a  paper  during  the  war,  that  it  did  not  intend 
to  obey  the  law  and  was  activelj'  aiding  the  enemy, 
that  paper  was  permanently  denied  the  use  of  the  mails. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  pubhshers  might  send 
out  their  papers  by  express,  or  even  by  freight.    This 

441 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

was,  in  fact,  what  the  I.  W.  W.  did  very  early  in  the 
war.  Under  these  circumstances,  however,  editors  and 
pubHshers  were  pretty  sure,  sooner  or  later,  to  come 
under  the  surveillance  of  the  Department  of  Justice. 
They  might  then  be  prosecuted  under  the  provisions 
of  the  Espionage  Act  for  lending  aid  to  the  enemy  in 
time  of  war. 

SUCCESSFUL  CONTROL 

Of  all  the  liberties  guaranteed  by  a  free  government, 
freedom  of  speech  and  of  conscience  are  undoubtedly 
those  most  cherished  by  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
For  this  reason  there  will  be  differences  of  opinion  as 
to  the  wisdom  of  any  attempt,  even  in  war  time,  to 
impose  a  censorship  upon  the  American  press  or  the 
American  people.  Even  where  some  sort  of  censorship 
is  necessary,  the  persons  who  exercise  it  -svill  not  be 
popular.  The  effectiveness  of  the  control  exercised 
over  the  foreign-language  press  by  the  Postmaster- 
General  during  the  period  of  the  war  is,  however,  be- 
yond question.  This  is  attested  by  the  very  fact  that, 
at  a  time  when  there  was  a  general  demand  throughout 
the  country  for  the  total  suppression  of  the  German 
press  and  of  all  the  foreign-language  papers,  so  ^'ery 
few  of  these  papers  were  actually  denied  the  use  of  the 
mails. 

On  the  other  hand  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
the  raids  of  the  Department  of  Justice,  the  sensational 
arrests,  and  the  deportations  of  radicals  since  the  armis- 
tice, have  been  a  great  stimulus  to  tlie  publication  of 
new  radical  papers. 

From  the  date  of  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  a  wave  of 
radicalism  appears  to  have  swept  over  the  country,  which  is 
best  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  since  that  date  approximately 
fifty  radical  newspapers  have  commenced  publication.     A 

442 


GOVERNMENT  INTERVENTION 

large  number  of  these  papers  openly  advocate  the  destruction 
of  the  United  States  government  and  encourage  and  advise 
their  readers  to  prepare  for  the  coming  revolution.  It  is  also 
a  noticeable  fact  that  a  great  many  of  these  publications  are 
practically  devoid  of  advertising  matter,  which  indicates  that 
they  are  receiving  money  from  outside  sources  to  further 
their  propaganda. ^ 

Public  prosecutions  do  not  suppress  radical  papers, 
but  they  do  make  martyrs.  A  martyr  is  a  person  who 
suffers  for  a  cause  and  gets  his  sufferings  advertised. 
IVIost  radicals  welcome  martyrdom.  For  many  of  them 
it  is  their  one  hope  of  an  immortality  that  every  human 
soul  desires.  Besides,  it  helps  the  cause.  Rightly  or 
WTongly,  for  the  mass  of  mankind,  the  fact  that  any- 
one is  willing  to  suffer  for  a  cause  is  prima  facie  evi- 
dence that  the  cause  is  right. 

The  Post  Office  Department  did  not  suppress  any 
foreign-language  papers  during  the  war,  but  it  did 
control  them.  Its  success  was  due,  in  part,  to  the  fact 
that  it  made  no  martyrs,  in  part  to  the  fact  that,  since 
its  final  decisions  were  rendered  only  after  a  thorough 
investigation  and  a  hearing,  in  which  both  sides  were 
represented,  it  made  relatively  few  mistakes. 

In  the  course  of  its  investigations,  hearings,  and 
readings  of  the  press,  the  government,  through  its 
officials  in  the  Post  Office  Department,  gained  some 
insight  into  the  motives,  the  interests,  and  communal 
purposes  of  the  immigrant  peoples.  At  the  same  time 
the  immigrant  peoples  themselves,  through  the  medium 
of  their  editors  and  publishers,  gained  a  more  adequate 
understanding  of  the  aims  and  purposes  of  the  United 
States  in  the  World  War.  This  mutual  understanding 
made  it  easier  to  control  the  foreign-language  press 


^  Investigation  Activities  of  the  Department  of  Justice.     Letter 
from  the  Attorney-General,  November  17,  1919. 
29  443 


THE  EVEVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

without  attempting  to  suppress  it,  and  was  perhaps 
the  most  important  result  of  the  so-called  censorship. 

The  thing,  however,  that  did  most  to  make  the  cen- 
sorship of  the  foreign  press  effective  was  the  outburst, 
upon  the  actual  declaration  of  war,  of  national  patriotic 
sentiment.  The  determination  of  the  American  people, 
as  expressed  in  Congress  and  in  the  courts,  to  defend 
the  common  interest,  even  against  the  insidious  attacks 
of  its  own  citizens,  revealed  to  the  masses  of  the  foreign 
population  the  existence  in  this  country  of  a  national 
spirit  of  which  they  had  not  kno\^^l  before. 

Peoples  who  had  struggled  to  secure  a  national  exist- 
ence at  home  were  able  to  understand,  at  any  rate,  the 
patriotism  of  loyal  Americans,  It  was  only  when  this 
sentiment,  after  the  armistice,  tended  to  degenerate 
into  a  crude  and  unintelligent  nationalistic  chauvin- 
ism, that  the  immigrant  peoples  felt  themselves  re- 
buffed and  shut  out  from  participation  in  the  national 
life. 

THE  COMMITTEE  ON   PUBLIC  INFORMATION 

It  was  fortunate  that  no  serious  attempt  was  made  in 
America,  as  it  was  in  Australia  and  some  other  coun- 
tries, to  suppress  tlie  foreign-language  papers  during 
the  progress  of  the  war.  Had  that  happened,  America 
would  have  been  deprived  of  an  effective  and  necessary 
means  of  gaining  that  understanding  and  solidarity 
between  the  immigrant  and  native  population  which 
was  necessary  to  win  the  war.  It  was  the  task  of  the 
Division  of  Work  Among  the  Foreign  Born,  of  the 
Committee  on  Public  Information,  under  the  direction 
of  Miss  Josephine  Roche,  to  mobilize  the  foreign- 
language  societies  and  the  foreign-language  press  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States. 

We  worked  from  the  inside,  not  from  the  outside,  aiding 
each  group  to  develop  its  own  loyalty  league,  and  utilizing 

444 


i 


GOVERNIVIENT  INTERVENTION 

the  natural  and  existing  leaders,  institutions,  and  machinery. 
We  offered  co-operation  and  supervision,  and  we  gave  coun- 
sel, not  commands.  As  a  consequence,  each  group  had  its 
own  task,  its  own  responsibility,  and  as  soon  as  these  facts 
were  clearly  understood  the  response  was  immediate.* 

Under  this  division,  as  finally  organized,  the  govern- 
ment established  direct  relations  with  fourteen  foreign- 
American  racial  groups — Italian,  Hungarian,  Lithu- 
anian, Russian,  Jugoslav,  Czechoslovak,  Polish,  Ger- 
man, Ukrainian,  Danish,  Swedish,  Norwegian,  Finnish, 
Dutch.  For  each  language  group  there  was  a  separate 
bureau,  with  a  director  in  charge,  assisted  by  translators 
and  office  helpers.  For  these  fourteen  language  groups 
there  are  approximately  865  newspapers.  Of  this  num- 
ber 745  received  a  regular  press  service. 

WTiat  the  foreign-language  papers  wanted  most  was 
news,  particularly  in  regard  to  the  activities  of  the 
government.  Four  days  before  the  draft  regulations 
went  into  effect,  full  instructions  were  given  to  the 
foreign-language  population  through  the  columns  of  the 
foreign-language  press.  Of  this  service  Provost- 
Marshal  General  Crowder  wrote  in  a  letter  to  George 
Creel: 

The  task  of  reaching  the  foreign  born,  who  are  unfamiliar 
with  our  language,  seemed  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  most  diflBcult 
and  perhaps  beyond  power  of  achievement. 

The  daily  arrivals  of  newspapers  In  foreign  languages  show 
how  widespread  are  the  ramifications  of  influence  of  your 
office,  and  have  revealed  to  me  what  a  powerful  and  effective 
agency  the  government  possesses.  Your  tact,  energy,  and 
ingenuity  in  utilizing  this  agency  to  its  fullest  command  my 
admiration,  and  I  offer  my  personal  thanks. 

The  committee  performed  an  equally  important 
service  for  the  Internal  Revenue  Department  in  the 

1  George  Creel,  How  We  Advertised  America,  p.  184. 

4-1:5 


THE  DIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

intei-pretation  of  the  provisions  of  the  revenue  bill 
affecting  aliens.  In  this  case  the  Foreign  Language 
Division  became  an  information  bureau  for  the  bewil- 
dered aliens.  Not  less  than  3,000  letters  were  received 
and  answered  in  the  effort  to  make  clear  to  the  foreign 
born  their  rights  and  duties  in  the  matter  of  the  taxes 
on  "nonresident"  aliens. 

The  remarkable  success  of  the  Liberty  Loan  among 
the  immigrant  peoples  was  largely  due  to  the  adver- 
tising given  it  in  the  foreign-language  press.  Similar 
information  in  regard  to  the  work  of  other  departments 
of  the  government,  prepared  and  sent  out  by  the  com- 
mittee, was  eagerly  accepted  and  published.  Even 
extreme  radical  papers  like  the  Russian  Novy  Mir, 
which  would  publish  nothing  which  had  the  flavor  of 
war  propaganda,  gladly  printed  information  which 
would  enable  their  readers  to  grasp  the  opportunities 
for  popular  education  offered  by  public  libraries  and 
other  educational  institutions.^ 

The  purpose  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Information 
was  to  make  America  intelligible  to  the  immigrant.  Its 
second  purpose  was  to  make  America  understand  the 
immigrant.  It  did  this  by  sending  out  to  the  native- 
language  press  news  concerning  the  work  that  was 
being  done  by  the  foreign-language  press  and  foreign- 
language  associations  to  aid  America  in  the  war.  Over 
fifty  such  "news  stories"  were  released  to  3,360  Amer- 
ican papers.  The  titles  suggest  the  information  fur- 
nished— "The  Jugoslav  Club,"  "Ukrainian  in  America 
Eager  for  Education,"  "Lithuanians  Support  Fourth 
Liberty  Loan."  The  education  of  the  American  in 
regard  to  the  foreign  born  was  recognized  as  quite  as 
important  to  a  mutual  understanding  as  the  education 
of  the  foreign  born  in  regard  to  America. 


George  Creel,  IIow  We  Advertised  America, 
446 


go\t:rnment  intervention 

There  is  necessan'  a  mutual  process  of  education  of  native 
and  foreign  born.  Full  information  on  American  life,  oppor- 
tunities, customs,  and  laws,  must  reach  the  men  and  women 
coming  here  from  foreign  lands  immediately  upon  their 
arrival.  Necessarily,  it  must  be  in  their  own  language.  The 
more  they  learn  in  this  way  of  our  fundamental  democracy, 
and  the  possibilities  for  them  and  their  children  in  this  coun- 
try, tlie  keener  become  their  desire  and  efforts  to  learn 
"America's  language."  To  witliliold  this  information  or 
delay  it  until,  according  to  theoretic  calculation,  these  immi- 
grants have  had  time  to  acquire  English,  is  deliberately  to 
create  a  period  of  cruel  bewilderment  and  false  impressions 
for  them  which  dampens  whatever  enthusiasm  they  had 
originally  to  study  English.  The  numerous  un-American 
conditions  and  injustices  to  which  so  many  immigrants  liave 
fallen  victims  must  be  wiped  out.  Explanations  and  instruc- 
tion about  America,  given  to  the  fullest  extent,  carry  little 
weight  when  individuals  have  been  unjustly  WTonged. 

The  ignorance  of  many  native-born  Americans  about  Euro- 
pean peoples,  and  their  contemptuous  attitude  toward  per- 
sons with  different  customs  from  their  o^\'n,  are  just  as  serious 
obstacles  to  assimilation  and  unity  as  the  tendency  of  some 
immigrants  to  cling  to  Old  ^Yorld  ways;  understanding  must 
come,  on  our  part,  of  the  heritages  of  tliese  newcomers,  their 
sufiFering  and  struggles  in  Europe,  and  the  contributions  they 
bring  us  if  we  will  only  receive  them.' 

America's  wars  have  always  sen'ed  to  bring  the  dif- 
ferent peoples  that  compose  our  population  to  a  com- 
mon understanding.  The  Committee  on  Public  In- 
formation gave  that  part  of  the  foreign  population  that 
did  not  go  to  war  an  opportunity,  through  the  medium 
of  its  own  associations  and  its  own  press,  to  participate 
in  the  common  purposes  of  the  country  more  ade- 
quately and  wholeheartedly  than  it  had  ever  done 
before. 


'  George  Creel,  How  We  Adrertised  America,  p.  198. 


XVIII 

CONTROL   THROUGH   ALLIANCE 

The  desire  of  native  Americans  to  control  the  foreign- 
language  press  has  a  logical  basis,  aside  from  our  in- 
stinctive distrust  of  anything  foreign  and  unintelligible. 
Some  immigrant  heritages  are  so  different  from  our 
own  that  their  expression  in  the  press  is  likely  to  insti- 
gate action  that  is  inimical  to  our  national  purposes,  or 
that  interferes  with  our  social  machinery.  To  prevent 
such  discord  is  a  legitimate  undertaking. 

Americans  may  even  go  one  step  farther.  By  en- 
couraging the  foreign-language  press  to  emphasize  the 
immigrant  heritages  congenial  to  ours,  by  showing  it 
the  friendly  side  of  America,  it  is  possible  to  hasten  its 
development  into  an  instrument  of  Americanization. 

INADEQUATE   METHODS 

No  one  has  seriously  proposed  to  suppress  the  foreign- 
language  papers.  The  experience  of  Germany  and 
Russia,  where  that  has  been  attempted,  is  against  it. 
Various  plans  have  been  suggested  for  controlling  this 
press.  Most  of  them  have  failed  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  sage  comment  of  the  London  poHceman, 
who  judged  it  better  all  around  for  the  soap-box  orators 
to  "blow  hoff "  than  to  "blow  hup." 

These  proposals  include  plans  for  taxing  or  penalizing 
immigrant  publications.  It  was  suggested  by  Rear- 
Admiral  Cooper  F.  Goodrich,  for  example, 

that  every  periodical  published  in  the  United  States  or  in 
adjacent  countries,  and  printed  wholly  or  in  considerable 

448 


CONTROL  THROUGH  ALLIANCE 

part  in  a  foreign  tongue,  should  pay  a  license  fee  to  the 
Treasury  of  1  cent  for  each  copy  of  a  daOy;  5  cents  for  each 
copy  of  a  semiwcekly,  triweekly,  or  weekly;  10  cents  for  each 
copy  of  a  monthly,  bimonthly,  or  quarterly,  etc.* 

This  suggestion  was  made  on  the  theory  that  the 
foreign-language  press  is  "a  luxury"  for  those  "who, 
remaining  in  our  midst,  are  unwilling  to  take  the  trouble 
to  learn  English."  Furthermore,  "those  who  really 
want  such  literature  can  well  afford  to  pay  the  price." 

Another  proposal  is  that  every  newspaper  published 
in  a  foreign  language  be  compelled  to  print  in  its  col- 
umns "an  interlineal  translation  of  what  it  has  to  say, 
in  plain  English."  ^ 

The  most  serious  objection  to  these,  as  to  other  forms 
of  coercive  Americanization,  is  that  they  do  not  work. 

USE   THE   IMMIGRANT   PRESS 

One  way  to  Americanize  the  immigrant  is  to  invite  his 
co-operation  and  use  his  own  institutions  in  the  process. 
The  immigrant  press  was  useful  to  the  United  States  in 
winning  the  World  War.  It  should  be  quite  as  valuable, 
it  would  seem,  in  time  of  peace. 

The  immigrant  himself  is  disposed  to  use  his  lan- 
guage and  his  press  to  help  him  find  his  way  In  the 
New  World.  The  foreign-language  press,  if  it  preserves 
old  memories,  is  at  the  same  time  the  gateway  to  new 
experiences. 

For  this  reason  foreign-language  papers  are  fre- 
quently agencies  of  Americanization  in  spite  of  them- 
selves.^ They  are  always  Americanizing  influences 
when  they  print  the  news,  or  even,  as  ^liss  Frances 
Kellor  contends,  when  they  advertise  American  goods. 

^  New  York  Times  Magazine,  June  24,  1917,  p.  14. 
*  Cleveland  Topics,  Editorial,  February  8,  1919. 
'  See  Part  I,  chap.  iii. 

449 


THE  BCSIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

One  million  dollars  of  American  money  spent  in  selling 
American  goods  to  the  foreign  born  in  America  will  do  more 
good  than  all  the  investigations  and  detecting  ever  set  on 
foot,  simply  because  the  publishers  uill  feel  that  America  cares 
and  is  their  friend,  and  wants  them  to  make  good,  and  they  will 
return  it.     Try  and  see.^ 

V  National  advertising  is  the  great  Americanizcr.  It  tells  the 
story  of  American  business,  pluck,  enterprise,  and  achieve- 
ment in  discovering  and  mining  the  treasures  of  the  earth, 
in  manufacturing,  in  trade,  in  literature,  in  science  and  in- 
vention, and  in  art. 

American  ideals  and  institutions,  law,  order,  and  prosperity, 
have  not  yet  been  sold  to  all  of  our  immigrants. 

American  products  and  standards  of  living  have  not  yet 
been  bought  by  the  foreign  born  in  America.  How  can  they 
buy  them  when  they  know  nothing  about  them? 

If  Americans  want  to  combine  business  and  patriotism 
they  should  advertise  products,  industry,  and  American  in- 
stitutions in  the  American  foreign-language  press.^ 

There  are  some  indications  that  Americans  are  at- 
tempting co-operation  with  the  foreign-language  press. 
Two  independent  agencies  have  sought  since  the  armis- 
tice to  perpetuate  in  modified  form  the  relations  estab- 
lished during  the  war  between  the  government  and  the 
immigrant  press.  These  organizations  are:  (1)  The 
Inter-Racial  Council,  of  which  T.  Coleman  Du  Pont 
is  chairman,  and  (2)  the  Foreign  Language  Bureau  in 
the  Department  of  Civilian  Relief  of  the  American  Red 
Cross,  of  which  Josephine  Roche  is  director. 

Actually,  the  Inter-Racial  Council  succeeds  the  U.  S. 
Chamber  of  Commerce  Americanization  Committee. 
Its  membership  has  been  further  recruited  since  the 

^  Frances  A.  Kellor,  "The  Place  and  Purpose  of  the  American 
Association  of  Foreign-Language  Newspapers,"  in  Advertising  and 
Selling,  July  5,  1919,  pp.  5-7. 

2  Circular  of  the  Foreign-Language  Press  in  America,  "The  For- 
eign-Language Press  in  America;  an  American  Institution,  an 
American  Advertising  Mediiun,   an  Americanization  Agency,"  1919. 

450 


CONTROL  THROUGH  AIXIANCE 

war  among  the  representatives  of  big  industries  who 
are  large  employers  of  immigrant  labor. 

The  Red  Cross  Foreign  Language  Bureau  is  the  suc- 
cessor to  the  Foreign  Language  Division  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Information,  After  the  sudden  dis- 
solution of  the  Creel  Committee  the  Foreign  Language 
Division  continued  for  a  time  under  the  title  of  the 
Foreign  Language  Governmental  Liformation  Service. 

AN  ATTEMPT  AT  BENEVOLENT  CONTROL 

The  Inter-Racial  Council,  as  Mr.  Du  Pont  conceived 
it  in  July,  1919,  is  a  continuation  of  the  government 
work  of  Americanization  wliich  was  carried  on  during 
the  war  under  the  direction  of  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
Lane,  and  Commissioner  of  Education  Claxton.  But 
it  is  something  different  and  more  definite  than  any- 
thing attempted  in  the  government's  program  of  Amer- 
icanization. It  has  become  an  organization  of  media- 
tion between  the  native  employer,  the  immigrant 
laborer,  and  the  labor  organizations.  Its  purpose  is  to 
interpret  each  of  these  parties  to  the  other. 

It  proposes  to  tell  employers  "about  conditions  in 
their  o^^'n  plants,  suggesting  remedies,"  and  to  tell  the 
immigrant  laborers,  on  the  otlier  hand,  what  the  busi- 
ness man  "means  by  profit  sharing  and  insurance  and 
a  lot  of  other  things  he  is  doing  in  his  plant  that  the 
immigrants  don't  know  about."  Not  only  is  the  im- 
migrant eager  and  anxious  to  know  about  all  these 
things,  but,  as  Mr.  Du  Pont  remarks,  "There's  a  lot  of 
good  industrial  light  hidden  under  a  bushel  that  would 
tend  to  dispel  this  Bolshevism  cloud  and  answer  spe- 
cifically and  practically  the  attacks  on  capital,  if  the 
people  knew  about  it." 

In  order,  however,  to  reach  the  immigrant,  it  is 
necessary  to  have  not  merely  an  organization,  but  an 
organ. 

451 


THE  BOIIGRilNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

It  is  all  right  to  get  things  started  at  the  bottom — i.e.,  it  is 
all  right  to  improve  existing  conditions  in  the  shop — but  sup- 
pose the  immigrants  get  a  constant  supply  of  rot  from  the 
top  tlu-ough  tlieir  press  and  their  publications  and  at  the 
meetings  of  their  societies.  No  matter  what  the  government 
does,  they  are  told  it  is  always  wTong;  no  matter  how  a  thing 
looks,  they  are  assured  tliere  is  always  an  ulterior  motive;  no 
matter  what  business  does,  it  is  always  against  the  working- 
man.  Every  sincere  effort  is  ridiculed  and  disturbed.  Get 
enough  of  this  going  into  a  man's  system  and  he  ceases  to 
think  straight  or  to  live  decently.  The  business  men  of 
America  are  not  afraid  of  the  truth  being  told,  neither  are  the 
labor  men,  but  they  w^ant  it  to  be  the  truth.  So  we  said,  is 
the  press  which  reaches  these  people  telling  both  sides  of  the 
story.'*  Is  America  getting  a  square  deal,  or  are  the  home 
coimtries  and  customs  and  traditions  and  institutions  hold- 
ing the  ioTt?  Is  tlie  American  government  getting  a  show  or 
is  it  being  knocked  eternally.^  ^ 

It  is  at  this  point  that  the  Inter-Racial  Council  con- 
nects with  the  American  Association  of  Foreign  Lan- 
guage Newspapers.  Mr.  Hammerling's  advertising 
bureau  has  been  purchased  by  some  of  the  business 
men  in  the  Inter-Racial  Council  and  is  now  the  organ 
of  the  council.  Through  this  agency  it  is  possible  to 
reach  all  the  foreign-language  newspapers  at  once. 

The  American  Association  of  Foreign  Language 
Newspapers  remains  what  it  has  always  been,  a  private 
corporation.  It  plans  to  carry  on  Hammerling's  busi- 
ness in  a  legitimate  manner.  Frances  A.  Kellor  is 
president  of  the  existing  organization. 

The  first  task  of  the  new  organization  has  been  to 
put  the  association  on  a  sound  business  basis;  to  get 
the  facts  in  regard  to  circulation;  to  standardize  com- 
missions and  obtain  uniform  agreements;    to   make 

^"The  Inter-Racial  Council:  What  It  Is  and  Hopes  to  Do,"  in 
Advertising  and  Selling,  July  5,  1919,  pp.  1-2. 

452 


CONTROL  THROUGH  ALLIANCE 

what  had  been  a  personal  organ  of  Mr.  Hammerling's 
an  institution  of  public  utility. 

Hammerling  showed  how  far  the  foreign-language 
press  could  be  controlled  for  purposes  that  were  alien 
and  un-American.  The  Inter-Racial  Council  proposes 
to  control  it  in  the  interest  of  America,  and  particularly 
in  the  interest  of  "better  understanding  between  capi- 
tal and  labor." ^ 

The  kind  of  advertising  that  the  Inter-Racial  Council 
wants  to  put  over  is  explained  by  Miss  Kellor  as  follows : 

There  is  a  second  kind  of  advertising  this  association  wants 
— good-will  or  policy  advertising.  .  .  .  The  association  is  not 
boosting  anything  or  anybody,  but  it  does  believe  that  it  is 
up  to  industrial  leaders  to  tell  the  truth  about  a^  hat  they  are 
doing  tlirough  advertising.  It  is  the  answer  to  Bolshevism; 
and  if  it  is  not,  we  ought  to  inaugurate  such  policies,  for  there 
is  no  other  answer. 

There  is  a  third  kind  of  advertising,  called  "propaganda," 
which  is  teaching  English  and  telling  about  American  institu- 
tions, which  the  association  believes  should  be  carried  as 
advertising  for  America,  and  the  Inter-Racial  Council  is 
handling  a  fund  for  this  purpos<\  It  has  already  put  over  a 
"Stay  in  America,"  and  Flag-Day  Message,  and  Fourth-of- 
July  Message,  and  is  also  interpreting  the  foreign-language 
groups  to  Americans.- 

The  following  advertisement  in  the  Jewish  Forward, 
June  2,  1919,  is  an  example  of  the  "American"  adver- 
tising which  tlie  council  is  placing  in  the  foreign-lan- 
guage press: 

Are  You  Gome  Back  to  Youk  Old  Home.? 

Here,  in  America,  one  has  no  right  idea  of  the  bad  condi- 
tion of  business  and  trade  which  now  reigns  in  Europe.    One 

'T.  Coleman  Du  Pont,  "The  Inter-Racial  Council:   What    It  Is 
and  Hopes  to  Do,"  in  Advertising  and  Selling,  July  5,  1919,  pp.  1-2. 
^  Advertising  and  Selling,  July  5,  1919,  pp.  7,  57. 
453 


THE  EVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

who  is  acquainted  with  national  conditions  says  that  the 
EngUsh  government  will  be  obliged  to  send  out  of  its  country 
five  or  six  million  Englishmen  in  order  that  it  may  be  easier 
to  feed  its  remaining  population.  Holland  is  giving  charity 
food.  The  great  Italian  army  has  not  as  yet  been  demobilized 
for  fear  there  will  be  no  work  for  its  soldiers.  In  Belgium 
800,000  persons  are  dependent  upon  the  help  of  tlie  govern- 
ment. In  France  the  situation  is  as  bad  as  everywhere  else. 
Poland  is  in  ruins.  Rumanian  farmers  have  no  cattle  and  no 
seeds  to  till  the  soil. 


America  H\s  Received  Yotr  When  You  Came  Here 
She  Wants  You  Now  to  Remain  Here 

America  has  room  for  your  ideals  and  welcomes  your  ideas; 
and  your  race  has  a  future  in  the  building  of  America.  Enter- 
prises, hopes,  and  rewards,  are  in  the  New  World. 

Do  you  remember  the  long  days  and  nights  of  doubt  and 
fear  on  the  deck  of  the  steamer.''  How  painfully  you  were 
longing  for  the  home  you  left  behind.'* 

The  beautiful  day  when  your  ship  arrived — and  the  first 
thing  which  greeted  you  was  the  statue  which  stands  on 
watch  at  the  entrance  to  the  New  World — the  Statue  of 
Liberty. 

You  could  feel  its  welcome  as  it  stood  there  with  its  bis- 
torch — the  torch  which  assures  you  of  a  good  welcome,  iL 
promise,  and  a  guide  to  all  those  who  come  to  her  shores. 

You  landed.     You  got  a  job. 

Soon  you  became  happy  and  contented.  You  saw  that 
"Liberty"  lived  up  to  its  promise. 

You  had  an  equal  opportunity  with  other  people.  Educa- 
tion was  free,  and  you  sent  your  children  to  school.  And  you 
went  to  night  school  yourself  to  study  English  and  to  learn 
a  trade. 

You  began  to  think  of  buying  a  home  and  of  remaining  in 
America. 

Then  war  came! 

And  the  first  thing  you  knew  was  that  America  called  you 


CONTROL  THROUGH  ALLIANCE 

to  help  win  the  war  in  order  that  the  same  freedom  which 
adorns  America  may  adorn  the  rest  of  the  world. 

You  were  a  man  through  and  through.  And  you  answered 
like  a  man. 

You  helped  to  build  ships. 

You  made  ammunitions  of  war. 

You  bought  Liberty  Bonds. 

You  suj^ported  your  new  land  without  limit. 

And  now  your  new  land  wants  you  for  an  American,  in 
every  sense  of  the  word — she  wants  to  share  with  you  the 
victory  wliich  she  has  won.  America  victorious  will  now, 
together  with  the  Allies,  enter  a  period  of  prosperity  such  as 
she  never  had  l)efore. 

The  revival  in  building,  which  was  at  a  standstill  during 
the  war,  has  begun — new  homes,  new  apartment  houses,  new 
business  buildings,  which  mean  jobs — jobs — jobs;  more 
homes  and  cheaper  rents  and  more  factories  in  which  to  work. 

The  lack  of  food  in  the  Old  World  is  terrible. 

America  must  feed  the  world.  This  means  work  on  beauti- 
ful, fruitful  farms,  for  those  who  long  for  the  country. 

Your  native  country  needs  that  you  remain  in  America  to 
make  safe  the  markets,  to  help  build  the  world  with  American 
surplus  materials  and  money  which  the  world  needs. 

The  employers  everywhere  recognize  that  the  workingman 
has  come  to  his  consciousness — recognizing  the  rights  and 
honor  of  labor. 

This  means  better  working  conditions,  better  living  con- 
•  tions,  and  better  wages. 

It  took  courage — "pluck,"  as  it  is  called  by  Americans — 
for  you  to  leave  your  home  and  to  begin  to  live  in  a  new 
countrj'. 

Now  that  you  are  already  here  and  that  you  have  begun — 
begun  successfully — why  not  remain? 

America  wants  to  have  citizens  with  courage. 

Say  to-day  to  yourself:  "I  am  in  a  good  land,  a  land  which 
fought,  not  for  selfish  purposes,  but  to  make  the  whole  world 
a  better  place  to  live  in.  I  want  to  remain  in  America  and  will 
think  like  an  American.  I  will  dress  myself  like  an  American. 
I  will  talk  American,  and  will  remain  an  American!" 

455 


THE  BIIVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Don't  throw  away  your  job  to  go  to  Europe,  not  knowing 
more  about  the  conditions  and  whether  they  want  you. 

Be  sure  that  you  are  right  before  you  start.  Don't  begin 
unconsciously. 

First  get  all  the  facts. 

Before  you  decide  to  go,  consult  your  emploj'er  or  your 
paper.    We  will  gladly  help  both  to  answer  your  questions.* 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  Inter-Racial  Council  to 
control  the  editorial  policies  of  the  foreign-language 
press.  It  expects  to  pay  advertising  rates  for  all  the 
space  it  uses.  It  will  not  ask  editors  to  support  its 
policies  in  their  editorial  columns. 

It  has  been  said  that  these  new  owners  (the  members  of 
the  Inter-Racial  Council  who  bought  the  American  Associa- 
tion of  Foreign  Language  Newspap>ers)  seek  to  control  the 
editorial  policy  of  this  press.  If  by  that  is  meant  transferring 
the  ownership  from  foreign  countries  to  America,  they  plead 
guilty.  If  by  that  is  meant  that  any  class  is  to  dominate  it 
in  its  own  interests,  the  answer  has  been  made.  The  first 
thing  the  new  owners  did  was  to  call  a  conference  of  the 
representatives  of  five  hundred  of  these  publications  and  put 
the  editorial  and  news  questions  in  their  papers  squarely  up 
to  them,  and  they  formed  a  Publishers'  Association  of  Amer- 
ican Newspapers  Published  in  Foreign  Languages,  which 
handles  these  matters  entirely,  and  separately,  while  the 
American  Association  of  Foreign  Language  Newspapers  is  a 
straight  business  organization  concerned  only  with  ad- 
vertising.^ 

Still,  foreign-language  papers  are  bound  to  be  more 
patriotic  and  more  considerate  of  American  business 
interests  if  they  are  fed  than  if  they  are  starved,  and 
this,  in  fact,  is  the  basis  upon  which  manufacturers 

*  Jewish  Daily  Forward,  June  2,  1919. 

^  Frances  A.  Kellor,  "The  Plan  and  Purpose  of  the  American  As- 
sociation of  Foreign-Language  Newspapers,"  in  Advertising  and 
Selling,  July  5,  1919,  p.  6. 

456 


CONTROL  THROUGH  ALLIANCE 

and  business  men  are  being  invited  to  contribute  to 
the  advertising  and  promotion  funds  of  the  council. 
Hitherto,  the  foreign-language  press  has  been  supported 
by  national  advertising,  "much  foreign  to  America." 
Furthermore : 

There  was  not  much  American  money  behind  it  or  under 
it,  and  there  were  very  few  native  Americans  associated  with 
it  or  interested  in  it  or  that  knew  anything  about  it.  Many 
little  papers  were  living  from  hand  to  mouth,  begging  for 
subscriptions  or  loans  during  the  year  to  pay  their  bills,  or 
resorting  to  other  measures.  We  think  America  and  not 
Europe  should  control  a  press  published  in  America.  We  are 
interested  in  having  it  set  free  to  work  for  America  volun- 
tarily and  cheerfully.' 

Although  the  council  has  no  intention  of  "unduly 
influencing"  the  foreign-language  papers,  in  the  sense 
of  Mr.  Hammerling's  manipulation  it  expects  to  require 
of  its  clients  the  advertising  standards  of  the  native 
press,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  this  imposes  definite 
conditions  on  the  editors. 

The  advisory  committee  on  advertising,  at  a  meeting 
in  New  York,  January  16,  1919,  made  recommendations 
on  the  following  propositions; 

1.  Standards  for  rates. 

2.  Standards  for  circulation.  (Like  membership  in  audits 
committee.) 

3.  Supplemental  work.    (Like  services  to  their  readers.) 

4.  Loan  committee  in  American  association  to  handle 
financing  difficulties  of  small  papers  (like  machinery,  improve- 
ments, etc.),  to  avoid  making  them  come  under  obligations 
to  forces  that  seek  to  control  them. 

The  committee  postponed  consideration  of  3  and  4, 
but  made  the  following  tentative  recommendations  on 
1  and  2: 

'  Advertising  and  Selling,  July  5,  1919,  p.  2. 
457 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

1.  The  committee  assumes  that  the  association  recently 
purchased  by  some  of  the  members  of  the  Inter-Racial  Coim- 
cil,  under  the  name  of  American  Association  of  Foreign 
Language  Newspapers,  is  not  to  be  an  advertising  agency 
which  represents  th3  advertiser,  but  a  special  newspaper 
representatives'  association  representing  the  foreign-language 
newspapers  in  the  procuring  and  placing  of  advertising. 

2.  That  this  association,  in  the  procuring  and  placing  of 
advertising,  will  be  a  connecting  link  between  the  advertiser, 
the  advertising  agencj',  and  the  foreign-language  press,  act- 
ing as  an  adviser  in  the  foreign-language  newspaper  field, 
and  guaranteeing  certain  standards  in  the  editorial,  news,  and 
advertising  columns;  in  the  matter  of  rates  and  terms;  and 
in  the  reliability  of  circulation  figures;  which  standards  are 
absolutely  necessary  to  the  sound  conduct  of  the  advertising 
business. 

3.  That  a  bureau  be  established  in  this  association,  called 
for  the  purpose  of  clearly  defining  its  scope,  the  Foreign  Lan- 
guage Advertising  Bureau,  or  that  the  association  itself  change 
its  name  to  the  above  if  it  is  to  confine  its  work  solely  to 
advertising  outlined  m  the  preceding  recommendation. 

4.  That,  for  the  protection  of  the  advertiser,  the  association 
adopt  and  insist  upon  its  use,  and  so  guarantee  to  the  adver- 
tiser the  standard  rate  card  adopted  by  the  American  Asso- 
ciation of  Advertising  Agents,  copies  of  which  are  hereto 
attached. 

5.  That  so-called  objectionable  advertising,  which  tends  to 
mislead  the  public  or  offend  good  taste,  be  eliminated  as 
rapidly  as  possible  from  the  foreign  press  wherever  it  is  still 
accepted. 

NEWS   AND   INFORMATION   SERVICE 

The  Foreign  Language  Information  Service,  now^  a 
department  of  the  American  Red  Cross,  deals  with  the 
foreign-language  press  from  a  different  angle.  The 
Inter-Racial  Council  is  a  propagandist  organization. 
It  is  seeking  to  control  radicalism  and  Bolshevism.    It 

^  January,  1021. 

458 


CONTROL  THROUGH  ALLL^XE 

wants  to  improve  laboring  conditions,  but  it  wants  to 
preserve  the  existing  order.  It  seeks  to  educate  both 
the  foreign-born  employee  and  the  native  employer. 

The  Information  Service,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a 
bureau  of  information.  It  confines  itself  to  sending  out 
to  the  foreign-language  papers  information  in  regard 
to  the  activities  of  the  different  departments  of  the 
government.  It  is  not  directly  concerned  with  radi- 
calism or  the  class  war.  It  is  a  news  service.  It  meas- 
ures its  success  by  the  number  of  items  which  it  suc- 
ceeds in  getting  printed. 

Five  hundred  and  seventy-six  articles  on  governmental  in- 
formation were  sent  out  by  the  Foreign  Language  Bureaus 
of  the  F.  L.  G.  I.  S.  during  OctoV»er,  an  increase  of  76  articles 
over  the  September  total.  According  to  government  sources 
supplying  information  for  these  articles,  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  and  Labor  furnished  117,  while  those  from  the 
Treasury  Department  were  distributed  among  the  divisions 
as  follows: 

Savings  Division 51 

U.  S.  Public  Health  Service 30 

Internal  Revenue 24 

War  Risk  Insurance 10 

Federal  Farm  Loan  Board 2 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  furnished  51;  Labor,  40; 
Council  of  National  Defense,  87;  State  Department,  11;  De- 
partment of  Commerce,  23;  Railroad  Administration,  22; 
American  Red  Cross,  15;  American  Relief  Administration, 
25.  The  remainder  came  from  the  D«.'partments  of  Justice, 
War,  Post  Office;  Federal  Reserve  Board,  Shipping  Board, 
Civil  Service  Commission,  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 
Education,  Library  of  Congress,  and  War  Camp  Community 
Service. 

The  foreign-language  press  shows  a  23-per-cent  increase 
in  the  use  of  Foreign  Language  Governmental  Information 
Service  material,  in  October,  over  previous  months.* 

^  Foreign  Language  Governmental  Information  Ser\"ice,  in  Bureau 
Bulletin  No.  6,  October,  1919. 
30  459 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

In  addition  to  its  news  to  the  foreign-language  press, 
the  bureau  is  a  source  of  information  to  individuals 
and  agencies  engaged  in  Americanization  work. 

Lists  of  foreign-language  organizations,  names  of  foreign- 
language  leaders,  translations  of  folk-songs,  lists  of  national 
holidays  and  fete  days,  information  on  the  foreign-language 
press,  lists  of  foreign  speakers,  summaries  of  notable  histori- 
cal events,  and  dates  in  history  of  various  nationalities,  were 
among  the  various  topics  on  which  the  F.  L.  G.  I.  S.  supplied 
extensive  information. 

Assistance  in  interpreting  and  dispensing  information  was 
given  the  International  Congress  of  Working  Women  held  in 
Washington,  D.  C. 

At  the  request  of  the  Savings  Division  of  the  Treasury 
several  of  the  bureaus  furnished  this  division  with  articles  on 
postal  and  other  savings  systems  in  Europe. 

The  F.  L.  G.  I.  S.'s  daily  contacts  with  the  foreign-speaking 
groups  constantly  reveal  the  need  for  further  knowledge  by 
the  native  born  of  the  problems  and  conditions  affecting  the 
immigrant  population.  Misrepresentation  of  the  foreigner, 
the  unfair  and  wholesale  criticism  and  condenuiation  of  the 
foreign-speaking  groups,  are  proving  a  serious  obstacle  to  the 
assimilation  so  greatly  desired  and  so  widely  discussed.^ 

Since  the  armistice  the  bureau  has  become  a  source 
of  information  to  individuals  in  regard  to  their  relations 
to  the  government.  From  June  to  December,  1919, 
the  increase  of  press  and  personal  service  work  of  the 
bureau  was  201  per  cent. 

Over  4,200  individuals  were  given  information  or  help  on 
matters  of  government  concern  in  October,  chief  among  these 
being  the  income  tax,  war-risk  allotments,  health,  citizenship, 
passport  regulations,  land  regulations,  and  agricultural  open- 
ings and  employment.^ 

^  Foreign  Language  Governmental  Information  Service,  in  Bureau 
Bulletin  No.  6,  October,  1919. 
2  Ibid. 

460 


CONTROL  THROUGH  ALLIANCE 

The  value  of  the  Red  Cross  Foreign  Language  In- 
formation Service,  or  of  any  other  Americanizing 
agency,  must  be  measured  in  the  long  run  by  the  extent 
to  which  it  meets  the  needs  and  enlists  the  support  of 
the  immigrant  himself.  No  "control"  of  the  foreign- 
language  press,  which  succeeds  only  in  getting  patriotic 
propaganda  into  the  papers,  but  gets  no  wide  or  spon- 
taneous response  from  the  readers  of  those  papers,  is 
likely  to  be  of  permanent  value,  either  to  the  foreign 
born  or  to  the  native  American. 

The  following  letter  from  the  wife  of  a  Slovak  miner 
in  Ohio,  to  the  Red  Cross  Foreign  Language  Informa- 
tion Service,  is  illuminating,  not  merely  for  the  light  it 
throws  upon  an  interesting  situation,  but  because  it 
indicates  a  need  and  desire  for  a  medium  through  which 
immigrants  can  communicate  directly  and  adequately 
with  America,  its  government,  and  its  people. 

Cambridge,  Ohio. 

Dear  Sir, — I  want  to  tell  you  about  some  things  that  the 
newspapers  are  discussing,  but  of  which  they  are  very  incor- 
rectly informed. 

One  day  I  read  in  a  certain  Czech-American  paper  that  the 
high  price  of  coal  was  caused  by  a  lack  of  laborers,  especially 
in  tlie  state  of  Ohio.  I  could  not  help  throwing  the  paper 
do^vTi.  And  I  said  to  my  husband:  "How  can  they  write 
such  things  when  here  great  crowds  of  people,  young  and  old, 
go  from  one  mine  to  another  and  get  work  nowhere?  Who- 
ever is  an  American  can  somehow  manage,  but  the  poor  im- 
migrant, the  'Hunkie,'  nobody  cares  about  him,  or  how  he 
makes  a  living." 

For  example,  there  are  in  this  neighborhood  mines  in  which 
my  husband  worked,  and  where  in  five  months  about  nine- 
teen shifts  have  been  employed.  How  then  can  such  families 
Uve  when  their  provider  brings  sueh  a  small  wage  in  fourteen 
days.'  In  trutli,  the  wife  of  such  a  miner  does  not  know  to 
which  bank  to  carry  her  money;  to  be  sure,  nobody  will  take 
it  from  her. 

461 


THE  IM]SIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

Finally,  the  mine  stopper]  work  altogether,  and  the  union 
announced  that  the  miners  would  be  distributed  throughout 
the  surrounding  mines.  Of  course  everyone  wanted  to  get 
into  the  nearest  mine;  they  could  not  come  to  a  decision,  so 
they  drew  lots  as  to  where  each  one  was  to  go.  It  so  happened 
that  my  husband,  also  several  other  Czechs,  had  to  go  to  a 
very  distant  mine.  I  advised  him  to  "batch"  it  there,  but 
he  said:  "Do  you  think  that  I  am  a  gypsy?  I  would  rather 
go  hang  myself  on  this  tree."  There  was  no  other  way  out 
of  it.  They  had  to  ride  every  day  by  train,  and  each  had  to 
pay  out  a  half  a  dollar,  regardless  of  how  it  was  to  be  raised. 
It  happened  tliat  they  arrived  there,  and  then  they  were  told 
"there  is  no  work  to-day,"  and  they  were  obliged  to  turn 
around  and  ride  back  home.  They  had  spent  the  half  dollar 
for  car  fare  and  had  earned  nothing.  That  often  happened 
twice  in  succession,  and  now  I  read  here  in  the  paper  "due  to 
lack  of  laborers,"  etc.    Is  it  not  enough  to  cause  wrath? 

A  mature  or  older  person  comes  here,  say  a  Czech  or  a 
German  or  a  Frenchman.  He  arrives  in  the  country  district, 
and  what  is  there  for  him  to  do?  He  must  buy  himself  a 
little  lamp  and  bucket  and  go  to  the  mines.  He  is  there  the 
whole  day  long,  either  alone  or  with  one  companion,  and  the 
other  man  usually  does  not  understand  English.  So  all  day 
long  he  does  not  hear  a  single  English  word.  Of  course,  it  is 
different  in  the  city.  The  "first  papers"  a  man  can  easily 
get,  but  it  is  hard  to  get  the  "second  papers."  Finally  he 
thinks,  "Well,  I  will  try  again,  I  might  make  application  for 
the  'second  papers.'"  So  he  arranges  for  two  witnesses, 
gathers  all  his  knowledge  of  English,  and  goes.  And  let  me 
tell  you,  that  before  he  goes  he  hardly  sleeps  for  several  nights 
for  the  very  fear  that  he  would  not  be  successful.  Then  he 
appears  before  the  commission,  answers  several  questions;  all 
of  a  sudden  he  makes  a  mistake,  and  everything  is  upset.  Then 
he  leaves  the  place  like  a  schoolboy  who  has  been  whipped, 
and  he  has  lost  his  desire  to  make  a  second  attempt  for 
citizenship  papers.  That  is  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  so 
few  immigrants  apply  for  citizenship  papers. 

I  agree  with  Mrs.  Simurda  that  they  have  been  investigat- 
ing the  high  cost  of  living  for  a  long  whUe,  and  yet  have  learned 

462 


CONTROL  THROUGH  ALLIANCE 

nothing  definitely.  I  think  those  gentlemen  who  are  doing 
the  investigating  are  not  in  any  great  need  themselves,  nor 
do  they  need  to  hear  their  wife  saying  constantly,  "Come 
here,  lad,  again  you  have  your  boots  all  torn;  yes,  Jesus  and 
Mary,  he  has  his  trousers  all  worn  out,  too!  And  look,  our 
girl  is  just  about  barefoot  again."  "And  how  did  you  tear 
that  dress;  you  shouldn't  do  that,  when  everything  is  so  dear; 
you  should  take  the  greatest  care;  here  is  a  little  piece  of 
meat;  look  at  it,  it  costs  so  much  and  it  is  nothing  but  bone; 
that  flour,  a  fifty-pound  sack,  costs  four  dollars.  Thmk  what 
that  means  for  us!  .  .  ." 

Those  are  some  of  the  complaints  which  the  gentlemen  of 
the  commission  do  not  hear  daily,  and  that  is  why  they  are 
so  slow.  ... 

Makie  S .' 

How  is  the  man  who  speaks  English  imperfectly,  or 
not  at  all,  who  never  will  and  never  can  express  him- 
self adequately  in  anything  but  his  mother  tongue — 
how  is  this  man  to  know  America?  How  is  America  to 
know  him.? 

This  volume  is  mainly  concerned  with  getting  an 
adequate  statement  of  this  problem.  The  work  which 
has  been  undertaken  by  the  Inter-Racial  Council,  under 
the  direction  of  Miss  Frances  Kellor,  and  by  the  Red 
Cross  Foreign  Language  Information  Service,  under 
the  direction  of  IVIiss  Josephine  Roche,  are  hopeful 
ex{..eriments,  and  indicate,  it  seems  to  me,  the  direction 
in  which  we  may  look  for  a  solution. 

They  themselves,  however,  are  not  the  solution; 
and  it  may  be  well  at  this  point  to  indicate  where  they 
fall  short  of  it. 

DEFECTS   IN   THE   ALLIANCE 

The  work  that  the  Red  Cross  has  undertaken  to  do 
seems  to  be  essentially  a  public  function.    It  is  doubt- 

'  Foreign  Language  Governmental  Information  Service,  in  Bureau 
Bulletin  No.  6,  October,  1919. 

4G3 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

ful  whether  a  private  organization  can  carry  on  per- 
manently a  task  whi<!h  so  manifestly  belongs  to  the 
Federal  government,  and  which  is  performed  by  the 
government  for  English-language  papers. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  seems  to  the  author  that  the 
Inter-Racial  Council  is  attempting  the  manifestly  im- 
possible. It  proposes  to  reform  the  foreign-language 
press  by  controlling  its  advertising;  to  force  its  evolu- 
tion to  the  form  attained  by  the  American  press. 

The  successful  American  newspaper  is  the  result  of 
many  forces,  interacting  over  a  long  period  of  time. 
The  more  important  of  these  are  the  news,  partisan, 
and  intellectual  interests  of  readers,  the  curiously  mixed 
financial  and  sentimental  interests  of  the  advertisers, 
the  profit  seeking  and  the  human  limitations  of  manager 
and  staff.  These  and  other  forces  produce  the  news- 
paper as  we  know  it,  which  is  in  unstable  equilibrium, 
changing  as  they  change.  The  working  balance  has 
been  built  up  very  gradually.  Managers  have  learned 
the  value  for  securing  advertising,  of  a  guaranteed  cir- 
culation, a  fixed  scale  of  rates,  and  definite  classes  of 
readers.  The  readers  have  been  secured  by  the  various 
news  and  editorial  policies.  The  advertiser  picks  his 
papers  for  prospective  returns  from  certain  groups  of 
readers.  According  to  his  temperament  he  is  influenced 
by  a  paper's  attitude  toward  his  owti  cherished  pre- 
dilections. The  newspaper  manager  is  always  trying 
to  strike  the  balance  most  profitable  to  himself  between 
all  these  factors. 

Many  years  of  experiment  by  the  trial-and-error 
method,  with  these  conscious  and  unconscious  motives, 
these  dehberate  and  spontaneous  actions,  has  given  us 
the  English-language  newspaper  of  to-day. 

This  report  has  shown  that  the  foreign-language 
newspapers  are  in  a  very  early  stage  of  this  develop- 
ment.   Yet  the  Inter-Racial  Council  would  require  of 

4C4 


CONTROL  THROUGH  ALLIANCE 

them  the  business  standards  of  the  English-language 
papers.  In  addition,  Mr.  Du  Pont  expects  them  to 
present  the  industrial  and  political  ideas  of  the  adver- 
tisers. The  question  is  whether  an  immature  press  will 
attach  to  these  business  standards  and  to  the  predilec- 
tions of  advertisers  the  importance  which  they  have 
attained  in  the  more  mature  papers. 

Moreover,  will  the  owners  of  this  advertising  agency, 
which  admits  having  other  than  trade  interest,  be 
satisfied  with  the  rate  at  which  their  efforts  can  trans- 
form the  immigrant  press?  Will  they  limit  their  in- 
fluence to  the  kind  which  they  exercise  over  the  English- 
language  papers?  That  is,  will  they  be  content  to  con- 
trol the  immigrant  press  only  to  the  extent  and  in  the 
way  that  business  can  control  the  native  press? 

Present  conflicts  within  the  Inter-Racial  Council  in- 
dicate that  the  owners  of  the  American  Association  of 
Foreign  Language  Newspapers  find  it  difficult  to  agree 
on  their  method  of  operation.  This  may  be  because 
they  are  trying  to  establish  an  artificial  rather  than  a 
natural  relation  with  these  papers.  If  even  these 
American  business  men  disagree,  how  much  more  diffi- 
cult will  it  be  for  them  to  establish  effective  relations 
with  a  group  whose  points  of  view  and  experience  are 
still  more  diverse? 

This  plan  to  influence  the  editorial,  advertising,  and 
business  standards  of  the  foreign-language  press  from 
a  point  of  view  beyond  the  experience  of  the  immigrant 
editor,  would  be  splendid  if  it  would  work.  But,  in 
the  matter  of  standards,  particularly  in  the  matter  of 
standards,  immigrants  and  their  editors,  like  other 
people,  prefer  to  make  their  own.  They  may  be  raised, 
no  doubt  will  be  but  it  is  a  long  process.  It  is  my 
conviction  that  the  American  Association  of  Foreign 
Language  Newspapers  will  succeed  in  its  present 
task,  if  it  succeeds  at  all,  only  by  abandoning  its  role 

465 


THE  IjVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

of  professional  Americanizer  and  becoming  merely  a 
business  organization  for  buying  the  advertising  space 
of  the  immigrant  press  at  what  it  is  worth  to  the 
advertiser.  As  the  publisher  gradually  discovers  what 
establishes  this  value,  the  advertiser's  standards  will 
gain  a  share  in  the  control  of  the  immigrant  press. 

There  is  much  concern  in  certain  of  our  intellectual 
circles  in  regard  to  the  so-called  capitalistic  press,  and 
the  sinister  influence  which  it  is  supposed  to  exert  upon 
popular  opinion.  The  American  Association  of  Foreign 
Language  Newspapers  is  in  the  hands  of  a  group  of 
capitalists.  Fears  have  already  been  expressed,  m 
some  of  the  radical  papers,  tliat  the  immigrant  press 
wall  now  be  subjected  to  these  same  sinister  in- 
fluences.^ 

No  one  knows  better,  however,  than  those  who  have 
ti'ied,  how  difficult  it  is  to  promote  an  unpopular  cause. 
The  history  of  the  brev/ers'  antiprohibition  campaign 
illustrates  the  point. 

The  newspaper  that  tries  to  propagate  opinions  dis- 
tasteful to  tlie  majority  of  its  audience  cannot  live,  even 
on  subventions.  It  is  not  sufficient  that  a  newspaper 
be  printed;  it  must  also  circulate.  A  newspaper  that 
has  no  circulation  is  not  a  newspaper,  no  matter  how 
often  it  is  printed.  People  will  not  read  a  paper  with 
which  they  continuously  disagree.  In  the  long  run, 
the  newspaper  expresses,  rather  than  creates,  public 
opinion. 

The  optimistic  feature  of  the  present  situation  is 
that  tlie  American  people  and  the  American  press  are 
beginning  to  take  notice  of  the  foreign-language  papers; 
that  their  opinions  upon  cjuestions  in  which  they  are 
more  deeply  concerned  than  the  rest  of  America,  are 
now  discussed  and  quoted.     These  things  indicate  a 


1  New  York  Call.  December  16,  1919. 


CONTROL  THROUGH  ALLIANCE 

significant  change  in   the  attitude  of  the  x\merican 
public.^ 

If  immigrant  editors  and  readers  know  that  their 
paper  is  read  outside  its  own  language  group;  that 
America  is  interested  in  what  it  says  and  takes  account 
of  its  opinions — that  very  fact  estabUshes  a  measure  of 
control.  A 

The  LTnited  States  has  made  a  positive  advance  in 
its  relations  to  the  immigrant  press  when  the  Post 
Office  "censors"  it  in  the  same  manner  that  it  does 
other  papers;  when  one  Americanization  organization 
advertises  in  it,  and  another  furnishes  it  with  news 
about  the  government.  Natural,  rather  than  arbitran', 
control  is  being  established  through  these  relationships; 
a  control  compatible  with  the  conclusions  essential  to  \ 
the  life  of  the  press.  ^ 

A  survey,  both  in  this  country  and  abroad,  of  the 
press  supported  by  the  language  groups  which  supply 
tlie  majority  of  our  immigrants,  shows  these  groups  to 
be  everywhere  engaged  in  a  struggle  for  existence  as 
distinct  racial  and  cultural  groups.  Formally,  this  is  a 
struggle  to  preserve  the  racial  mother  tongues,  and  to 
make  the  speech  of  the  common  man  a  wTitten  as  well 
as  a  spoken  language.  Intrinsically  it  is  a  struggle  of 
peoples,  culturally  isolated,  to  preserve  their  o\n\  cul- 
tural inlieritances  and  at  the  same  time,  through  the 
medium  of  the  language  that  they  know  best,  to  gain 
access  to  the  cosmopolitan  culture  of  Europe  and  tlie 
world.  It  is,  to  state  it  generally,  a  struggle  to  get  into 
the  great  society,  to  enter  into  and  participate  in  the 
conscious  life  of  the  race.  The  most  important  instru- 
ment of  this  movement  is  the  press. 

In  America,  the  immigrant  wants  to  preserve,  as  far 
as  possible,  his  heritages  from  the  old  country.    These 


1  Literary  Digest,  September  18,  1920. 
4G7 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 

are  represented  pre-eminently  by  his  language  and  his 
religion.  At  the  same  time  he  wants  to  participate  in 
the  common  life  and  find  a  place  in  the  American  com- 
munity. In  these  two  motives  we  have  at  once  the 
problem  of  the  foreign-language  press  and  its  solution. 

The  immigrant's  language,  like  his  memories,  is  part 
of  his  personality.  These  are  not  baggage  that  he  can 
lose  en  route  to  his  destination.  Furthermore,  it  is  not 
always  desirable,  even  if  it  were  possible,  to  extirpate 
or  suppress  these  heritages.  This  is  the  ultimate  aim 
of  the  suggestions,  mentioned  earlier,  for  taxing  or 
otherwise  penalizing  the  foreign-language  papers.  There 
is  danger  of  imposing  upon  candidates  for  citizenship 
conditions  that  they  cannot  fulfill.  The  aim  of  Ameri- 
canization is  not  the  subjugation,  but  the  assimila- 
tion, of  the  immigrant.  Assimilation  takes  place  more 
readily  when  there  are  no  mental  conflicts  and  new 
relationships  breed  new  loyalties  from  the  old  heritages. 


INDEX 


Advertising: 

Hammerling's    agency,    377- 

411 
Relation  to  immigrant  press, 

113,  359-376 
Tj-pes,  113-134 
Agents: 

Advertising,  375-376 

Hammerling,  377-411 
German  propaganda,  421-427 
Steamship,  337-34* 
Albanian : 

Immigrants,  290 
Nationalism,    193 
Publications,  7.  299,  301 
Number,  301,  318 
Place,  297 
Dielii,  252 
Albert,  Heinrich,  390,  422,  427 
"AUrightnick,"  82,  405 
America : 

Indictment  by  radicals,  219- 
226 
American    Association    of    For- 
eign   Language   Newspa- 
pers,  xix,    375,    377^11, 
452-458,  465-467 
Publications: 
The  Leader,  387 


Americanization : 
Agencies : 

Coimter  forces,  417-421 
Foreign  Language  Informa- 
tion Service,  458-463 
Immigrant     press,      79-80, 
86-88,  210-213,  359,  448- 
451,  463-468 
Inter-Racial   Council,   451- 

458 
"The  Bronx  Express,"  130 
Definition,  88 
American  Red  Cross : 

Foreign    Language    Informa- 
tion   Service,    xix,    451, 
458-464 
Anarchism : 

In  immigrant  press,  215,  216, 
221-226,     228-229,     234, 
243,  413 
Andrae,  Percy,  384-389 
Annales  des  Nationalites,  51,  53, 

54 
Antin,  Mary,  214 
Anti-prohibition  campaign,  384- 

390 
Arabic : 

Language    of    Mohammedan- 
ism, 52 
'     Publications,  56,  299,  344-346 
Number,  301-302,  318 


469 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


Place,  297 

Al-IIoda,  252,  344-346 
Koivkah,  56 
Archibald,  James  F.  J.,  429 
Arkansas : 

German,  293 
Armenians : 

Immigration,  290 
Nationalism,  193 
Publications.  7,  299,  436 
Circulation,  304,  306-307 
Number,  301,  318 
Place,  297 
Asbarez,  276 

Eritassard  Hayastan,  276 
Hairenik,i5i,276 
Asch,  Scholem,   130 
Assimilation: 
Through 

Church,  52-54 
Immigrant  press,  49-88, 359, 
468 
Assyrians: 

Immigrants,  290 
Publications,  7 

Assyrian  American  Herald, 
135 
Audit  Bureau  of  Circulation,  296 
Austria-Hungary : 

Control  of  emigrants,  193,  200- 

201 
Suppression  of  mother  tongue, 
67 
Ayer,  N.  W.  &  Son: 

American  Newspaper  Annnal 
and  Directory,  xix,  17,  91- 
92, 136,  252,  256,  266,  274, 
276,  295,  297,  301,  305, 
317,  320,  322,  324,  326 


B 

Babcock,  C.  H.,  6,  87 

Bagger,    Eugene    S.,    76,    347- 

352 
Balch,  EmUy  G.,  6, 10, 11, 29.  32, 

61,  67 
Balkan  Pro\Tnces: 

Languages,  23,  25 
Bank: 

Immigrant,  338 
Barsotti,  Carlo,  342-343 
Belgian : 

Immigrants,  287 
Population,  299 
Publications,  7,  303 
Number,  318 
Place,  297-298 
Belisle,  A.,  57,  58.  59 
Bernstorff,     Ambassador.     394- 

395,  424-425 
Bielaski,  A.  Bruce,  432-433 
Bjorkman,  Edwin,  259 
Bohemian: 

Immigrants,  287-289 
Language,  262 
Nationalism,  40,  193,  289 
Publications,  6,  262-265,  436 
Number,  302,  313-315,  317- 

319,  325 
Place,  297-298 
Pro\-incial   type,   135,   148- 

149 
Amerikan,  264 
Baltimorske  Listy,  149,  198 
Duch  Casu,  264 
Fliigblcitter.  262-263 
Was,  264 
Hlas  Lidu,  264,  276,  441 


470 


INDEX 


Milwaukee  Flugblatter,  262-      Butler,  Ralph,  5,  25,  27,  28,  39, 


263 
Narod,  148 
Narodtti  Noriny,  264 
Obrana,  219.  235,  276.  441 
Polcrok,  252,  265 
Pokrok  Zapadu.  372 
S/atnV,  264,  265 
Slovan  Amerihansky,  263 
Slovan  Amcriky,  2G4 
Sprarcdlnost,  200,  227,  230- 

231,  238,  264,  276,  441 
Svornost,  264 
T'o/«e  Z,w<y,  265 
Zajmy  Lidu,  441 
Bolshevism : 

In  immigrant  press,  229-238 
Books: 

Immigrant      advertisements, 
123-126 
Boston,  Massachusetts: 
Language: 

Irish  re\nval.  50 
Italian,  67 
Publications: 
English,  253 
Immigrant,  297 
Botwinik,  280 
Braim,  Marcus,  423 
Bridgeport,  Connecticut: 

Munition  strikes,  429 
Bulgarian : 

Immigrants,  289 
Language,  37 
Publications,  7,  436 
Number,  301,  318 
Place,  297,  300 
Naroden  Glas,  252,  372 


40,  42,  47,  271 


Cahan,    Abraham,    xx,    63,    83, 

97-107,  224,  405 
Capek,  Thomas,  263-265 
Capitalism : 

In  immigrant  press,  214-226 
Catalonian: 
Immigrants,  4 
Language,  34 
Publications,  7 
Catholic  Encyclopaedia,  260 
Celtic: 

Language,  33 
Chicago,  Illinois: 
HajTnarket  riot,  276 
Immigrant    dramatic    compa- 
nies, 129 
Lithuanian  colonies,  113 
Publications  (immigrant),  296, 
305 
Number,  297-298 
Yiddish,  300 
Swedish  and  Norwegian  ward, 
86 
Chinese : 

Immigrants,  290 
Language,  19-21 
Publications,  7,  299 

Advertisements,    119,    121- 

122,  127,  129 
Editors,  72 
Number,  301-302,  318 
Place,  297 

Chinese  World,  129,  252 
Chung  Sai  Yat  Po,  119,  122, 
371 


471 


THE  IMISOGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


Chu,  Jennings,  P.,  21 
Church : 

Hungarian,  419-420 
In  assimilation,  52-54 
Norwegian,  137 
Press,  254,  256 
Cincinnati,  Ohio: 

Publications  (immigrant),  266 
Circulation : 
Publications : 
English,  17 
Immigrant.  17,  91-92,  295- 

297,  301-307,  321,  323 
Income,  365 
Claussen,  M.  B.,  422 
Cleveland,  Ohio: 
Publications,  347 
Immigrant,  297 
Cohen,  Israel,  94 
"Colonist": 

Type,  28S-289,  298.  302-303 
307-308 
Colony: 
Immigrant : 
Early,  252-256 
In  United  States,  6-7,  292- 
295,  413 
Committee  on  Public  Informa- 
tion: 
Work    among    foreign    born, 
439,  444^.47 
Community 

{See  Colony) 
Cortelyou,  George  B.,  400 
Creel,  George,  445-447 
Croatian : 

Immigrants,  289 
Language,  34,  36-37 


Organization: 

National  Croatian  Society, 
272-274 
Publications,  7,  341-342,  436 
Number,  303.  305,  318 
Place,  297,  300 
Style,  71 

Narodni  List,  196,  202,  205, 
252,     341-342,     382-383, 
399 
Radnicka  Obrana,  201 
Radnicka  Straza,  216 
Zajednicar.  37,  71,  273-274, 
305 
Culture: 

Immigrant,  84 
Cumpanas,  George,  115,  340-341 
Czechoslovak 
{See  Bohemian) 

D 

Dakser,  Frank  L.,  341 
Danish 

(Sec  Norwegian,  Scandinavian) 
Davis,  Michael  M.,  Jr.,  370 
Denmark : 

Language,  22-23,  33 
Department    of    Internal    Rev- 
enue, 445-446 
Department  of  Justice,  435-437, 

439,  442 
Deportation : 

Russian  cases,  77-79 
Demberg,  Bernard.  422 
Dialects.  3-5.  18-19,  23-24 
Dimoff,  Ossip,  129-130 
Dineen,  P.  S.,  12 
Domestic     Relations,     162-165, 
17^186 


472 


INDEX 


Dominian,  Leon,  5,  23,  36,  41 
Doumergue,  M.,  47 
Dramatics : 
Immigrant : 

Advertisements,  129-131 
Dimkards,  253 
Du  Pont,  Coleman  I.,  87,  450- 

453.  465 
Dutch: 

"Pennsylvania  Dutch,"  80, 83, 

255 
PubUcations,  7,  303 

Number,  313-315,  318,  319 
Place,  297-298 
Volksvriend,  143 
Dyal,  Har,  427 

E 

Encydopsedia  Americana,  vol.  ii, 

22 
English : 

Advertising,  390-391 
Publications,  13,  17,  309,  323- 

824,  326,  436,  445,  4G4 
Qeveland  Topics,  449 
Boston : 

News  Letter,  253 
New  York: 

Call.  466 

Daily  Mail,  361,  423 

Evening  Post,  102 

Nation,  354-355 

New  Republic,  354-355 

Sun,  423 

Times,  355,  391,  449 

Tribune,  426 

World,  354 
Washington  Post.  423 


Spoken,  15-16,  22,  60-61 
In  China,  20 
Enteen,  Joel,  110 
Espionage  Act,  434-435,  442 
Esthonian : 
Language,  32 
Publications.  7,  436 
Uus  Ulm.  232 
Europe: 

Influence  on  immigrant,  193- 
194.  199-202 
"Exotics": 

Type,  290,  291-299,  301-302, 
807-308 


Faust,    Albert    Bernhardt,    254, 

260,  275 
Fay,  Stephen,  195 
Fedorchuk,  Y.,  43 
Filipino: 

Immigrants,  290 
Fink,  R.,  64 
Finnish : 
Attitude,  46 
Folk  songs,  38-39 
Immigrants,  289 
Language,  26,  34,  39 
Population,  299 
Publications,  7,  307,  436 
Advertisements,  119 
Circulation,  304 
Number,  208,  303,  306,  313, 

315-319 
Place,  297,  300 
Industrialisii,  232,  276 
Lapaiossu,  205,  221,  276 
Ne7c  Yorkin  Naima  Uutiset, 
204 
473 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


Paivalehti,  i5i 
Raivaaja,  217.  233,  276 
Toveri,  217,  276 
Toveritar.  244-245,  276 
Tyomies.  119,  276 
Flaten,  Nils,  83 
Flemish : 

Publications,  7 
Foreign    Language   Information 
Ser\nce,  xix,  451,  458-464 
Free  thought: 
Movement,  265 
Publication,  256,  262 
Freidus,  A.  S.,  xx. 
French : 

Dramatic  companies,  129 
Language,  33 
Press,  13,  260-261 
Publications,  7,  436 
Advertisements,  133 
Catholic,  260 
Editors'  association,  261 
Number,  302,  313-315,  317- 

319,  3£5-326 
Place,  297-298 
Provincial  tj-pe,   135,   145- 

147 
Courrier  des  Etats-Unis,  252 
La  Gazette  Franqaise,  261 
Le  Courrier  de  Boston,  261 
Le  Pairiote,  261 
Opinion  Publique,  146-147, 
372 
French-Canadian : 
Church,  260-261 
Lnmigrants,  289,  325-326 
Language,  22,  57-59 
Publications : 

Lewiston  Messenger,  58 


Protectevr  Canadien,  59 
Public  Canadian,  57,  59 


Gabriel,  Arthur: 
Testimony  to  Senate  Commit- 
tee, 393-399 
Gaelic,  30-31 

Galleani,  Luigi,  228,  362-363 
German : 

Attitudes  toward: 
Letts,  47 

"Melting  pot,"  61 
Dramatic  companies,  129 
Immigration,  6,  193-194,  255, 
261,    287-289,    292,    295, 
307,  413 
Language,  18,  22,  26,  32,  37. 

67 
Organizations,  127-128,  136 
"Pennsylvania  Dutch,"  80,  83, 

255 
Population,  298 
Propaganda,  412-447 
Publications,  7,  193-194,  228, 
304,  326,  436 
Advertisements,     120-121. 

128-129,  392 
Circulation,  92,  304-305 
Dailies,  265-268,  301 
First,  253-256 
Number,  301,  302-303,  310- 

320 
Place,  297,  298 
Provincial  tj-pe,  135-136 
Abend  Post,  266 
Abendpost,  114,  266-267,  320 
Advertising  Courier,  262 
Amerika,  266 
474 


INDEX 


Arbeiter-Zeitung,   276,   361- 

362 
Atlantic  City  Freie  Presse, 

373 
Bayerisches  Wochenblatt,  136 
Chicago  Sozialist,  275 
Chicago  Volkszeitung,  275 
Der  IIoch-Deutsche  Pennsyl- 

vanische  Geschicht-Schrei- 

ber,  253 
Der  Reading  Adler,  256 
Deulsck    Amerikanischer 

Farmer,  92.  135 
Deutsche  Hausfrau,  92 
Echo.  276 
Echo,  Post  und  Beobachter, 

372 
Fackel,  238,  241,  276,  360- 

362 
Freie  Presse,  92,  266-267 
Freiheit.  276 
GeisUiches  Magazin,  25-1 
Germania,  128,  140 
Hermanner  Wochenblatt,  262 
fferoW,  194,  266-267,  353- 

354 
Illinois  Staats-Zeitung,  266- 

267,  372 
Kirchenbote,  306 
LicAf  Freund,  262 
Luxemburger      Vereins  -  zei- 

tung,  136 
Mennonitische     Rundschau, 

138.  139.  142,  144.  145 
Mitteilungen    des    Deutsch- 

Amerikanischen     Bundes, 

414-415 
Morgenstem,  80 


Nachrichten    aus   Schleswig- 

Holstein,  136 
iVeue  Zfz<.  275 
New    York    Staats-Zeitung 
und  Eerold,  252,  266-267, 
353-354,  417,  428 
Ostfriessische    Nachrichten, 

136,  139,  144 
Philadelphia  Tageblatt.  275 
Schwdbisches      Wochenblatt, 

136 
Volksblatt.  262,  266,  372 
Volkstimme  des  Westens,  275 
Volkszeitung,  97,  275 
For6o<^,  275-276 
FoTToerts,  275 
Wachtcr  und  Anzeiger,  266- 

270 
Weser  Nachrichten,  136 
Westliche  Post,  194,  266 
Westlicher  Herold,  92 
York  Gazette,  256 
Radicals,  239-241 
German-American  Alliance,  414- 

417 
German     Lutheran     Synod     of 
Iowa : 
Yearbook,  141 
Goebel,  J.,  62 
Government: 

Control  of  press,  412-447 
Use  of  foreign-language  press, 
459 
Gravstad,  Nicholay  A.,  259 
Greek: 

Immigrants,  290 
Language,  19,  32-33,  37 
Publications,  7,  299,  436 


31 


475 


TirE  EVIMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


Advertisements,    118,    120, 

122,  134 
Number,  301-302,  813,  315- 

319 
Place,  297 

Atiantis.  69,  252,  375 
Campana,  69 
Liberal,  118 

National  Herald,  69,  120 
Prometheus,  122 

H 

Hale,  William  Bayard,  424 
Hammerling,     Louis,     376-411, 

452-453,  457 
Hapgood,  Hutchins,  70,  108 
Haskala,  33,  94-95 
Hebrew  (see  Yiddish) : 
Language,  3-4,  94 
Publications,  4,  7,  326 
Number,  318 
Place,  297 
Hexamer,  Charles  J.,  414,  416 
Hindu: 

Immigrants,  290 
Publications,  7 

Hindustani  Ghdar,  199 
Holmes,  John  Haynes,  426 
Hourwich,  I.,  68 
Hungarian: 

Dramatic  companies,  129 
Immigrants,  289 
Language,  28-29,  31-32,  37 
Organization : 

Transatlantic    Trust,    417- 
421 
Propaganda,  417-421,  430-432 
Publications,   7,   73-76,   347- 
352,  436 


Number,  303,  313-315,  318 
Place,  297,  300 
A  Felzabadulas,  234 
Amerikai  Figyelo,  195 
Amerikai  Magyar  Nepszava^ 

74-75,  199,  207-210,  430- 

431 
Azpari  Munkas,  218,  228 
Berko  Kepes  Ujsazja,  372 
Elore,  76,  27G 
Szabadsag,  73-75,  201,  252, 

347-352,  430-432 
Vedelem,  218 


Dlinois: 
German: 

Immigrants,    86,     135-136, 

293,  299 
Publications,  267,  299 
National     Croatian     Society, 
272-274 
Immigrant  customs,  117-121 
Immigrant    heritages,    10,    427, 

448,  467-468 
Immigrant     organizations     (See 
separate  races),  10,  271- 
274 
Advertisements,  127-131 
Immigrant  press 

{See  Press — foreign  language) 
Immigrants : 

Attitudes,  202-207,  269,  272- 

274,  412-413 
Earlier  groups,  135,  253-262 
Interest  in  Europe,  193-195 
Provincial  groups,  135-149 
Types,  287-292,  298-304.  307- 
308 


476 


INDEX 


Immigration: 

Earlier,  255.  261.  262,  277 
Relation  to  publications,  314- 
327 
Indian  Publications: 

Gadha,  427 
Intelligentsia,  70,  177-179 
Inter-Racial   Coimcil,   87,   450- 

458,  463-465 
Iowa : 
Bohemians,  287 
Decorah : 

Population,  256 
Immigrants,  67,  322 
Ireland: 

Language,  33 
Irish: 

Immigrants,  289,  413 
Organizations: 

Phil-Celtic  Society,  50 
Society  for  Preservation  of 

Irish  Language,  50 
Society     for     Propagating 
Christian  Knowledge,  30 
Press,  13 

Propaganda,  427-428 
Italian : 

Dramatic  companies,  129 
Immigrants,  289,  293 
Language,  18,  294 
Publications,  7,  245,  342-344, 
436 
Advertisements,    114,    120, 

123-124,  129.  130,  134 
Circulation,  92,  304 
Number,  302-305,  313,  315- 

319,  324-325 
Place,  297,  300 
Bolletino  delta  Sera,  92,  129 


Cronica  Suvversira,  216,  224, 

228-229,  234,  362-363 
Eco  d'ltalia,  343-344 
Follia  di  New  Fori.  197 
Gazzetta  del  Banchiere,  341 
Guerra  di  Classe,  237,  247 
II  Diretto,  234 
II  Martello,  237 
II  Proleiario,  229 
L'Era  Nuova,  215.  228 
Parola  Proletaria,  276 
Progresso     Italo-Americano, 
92.  120.  123, 124,  130.  134, 
342-344,  368.  375 
Voce  del  Popolo.  252 
I.  W.  W.,  214,  218,  219.  221,  228- 
230,    232,    234.    236-238, 
243-247,  307,  413,  442 


Jakstas.  A.,  53 
Japanese: 

Dramatic  companies,  129,  131 
Immigrants,  290 
Organisations,  158 

Japanese      Association      of 
California,  xx 
Patriotic  league,  281 
Publications.  7,  150-166 
History,  280-286 
Number,  295.  301,  813-319 
Place.  297 
Colorado    Times,    159,    163, 

369 
Ensei,  280 
Gei-Bi-Jin,  151 
Great  Northern  Daily  News, 

152,  156.  165 
Hoku-shin-Juho,  164 


477 


THE  IIVIIVIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


Japan  Eerald,  283-284 
Japanese  -  American     Com- 
mercial Weekly,  165 
Japanese  -  American    Netcs, 
151,   157,   158,   160,   166, 
280,  284-286 
Japanese  Daily  News,  151, 

157,  158,  165 
Japanese  Times,  166 
Neto  World,  151,  163,  252, 

283-285 
Nineteenth  Century,  280 
Los  Angeles  News,  369 
North  American  Herald,  159, 

162 
Stockton  Times,  153,  160 
Sun,  151 
Tacoma     Japanese     Times, 

153,  160 
Utah  Nippo,  157,  158,  369 
Jenks  and  Lauck,  270 
Jewish  {see  Yiddish) : 
"Allrightnick,"  82,  405 
Contribution,  92-95 
Dramatic  companies,  129-130 
"Haskala,"  33,  94-95 
Immigrants,  290, 292,  293,  294, 

308 
"Kibitzarnia,"  277-280 
Organizations: 

Menorah  Society,  416 
United  Hebrew  Trade,  99 
Workmen's  Society,  99 
Press,  166-175 
Publications,  4,  7, 13,  299,  300, 

326,  436 
Scholars,  3,  70,  105.  307 
Jewish  Communal  Register,  90, 
91,  94 


Jewish  Encyclopaedia,  1905,  4 
Johnson,  Alexander  J.,  259 
Johnson,  John,  257 
Jones,  David  Brynmor,  24,  30 
Journalism  (immigrant): 
Atmosphere,  277-286 


Kaupas,  A.,  54 

Kellor,    Frances,    375,   449-450, 

452-153,  45G,  463 
Kohanyi.  E.  T.,  347-352 
Kolander,  Francis,  37,  71 
Komer,  Gustav,  255 
Kosciusko,  42 
Kossuth,  42 
Kusama,  Shiko,  xx,  152-155,  286 


Ladin,  3,  63,  294 

Lamar,  William  H.,  xix,  196,  441 

Land  Settlement: 

Advertising,  116-117 
Language: 

Development,  18-24 

In    immigrant    press,    67-72, 
135-137,  318 

Modification,  79-84 

Relation  to  nationality,  40-48 

Revivals,  33-40 

Significance,  3-6,  11-13 

Suppression,  24-33 

Written  and  spoken,  14-18 
Latin: 

In  Rome,  21-22,  32-33 

Language,  3,  19,  37 
Lawson,  Victor  E.,  260 
Legislation  (Federal): 

Espionage  Act,  434-435 


478 


INDEX 


Leiserson,  Wm.  M.,  98,  100 
Lenine,  Nikolai,  68 
Lettish : 

Folksong,  47 
Immigrants,  290 
Language,  32-34,  39-40 
Nationalism,  193 
Publications,  7,  299,  303,  436 
Number,  318 
Place,  297 
Atbalss.  200 
BUetins,  363 
Levland,  Jorgen,  40 
Liberty  Loans,  446 
Literacy : 

Prevention,  28-33 
Lithuanian : 
Church,  52-54 
Immigrants,  44-45,  51,  289 
Language,  25,  27,  42 
Nationalism,   41,  50,  53,   63, 

193 
Publications,  7,  50,  436 
Advertisements,     116-117, 

124-127,  133 
Number,  303,  313,  315.  313 
Place.  297,  300 
Auzra,  50 

Darbininku  Viltis,  51 
Draugas,  51,  86 
Kardas,  117,  276 
Kathalikas,  51 
Keleivis,  126-127,  218,  276, 

873 
Laisvc,  125 
Lietuva,  51,  133,  252 
Naujienos,  113,  276 
Tevyne,  51 
Vienybe  Lietuvininku,  51 


Los  Angeles,  California: 
Japanese  press,  150,  286 

Luxemburg: 
Population,  299 

Mc 
McGuire,  James  R.,  428 
MacLeod,  Norman,  81 

M 
Magyar 

(See  Hungarian) 
Mahan,    John    E.,   Advertising 

Agency,  390 
Marriage: 

Advertisements,  125 
Immigrant,  179-186 
Marx,  Cari,  239-241 
Massachusetts: 
Lawrence : 
Radical  organizations,  186- 
187 
Matson,  Hans,  258-259 
Medical     advertisements.     121- 

122,  369-374 
Mencken,  H.  L.,  16,  18,  70.  83 
Mendelsohn,  Moses.  95 
Mennonites : 

Community,  253 
Publications,  136 
Mexico,  317,  324 
Michigan : 

Finnish  Reds,  241 
Germans.  292-293 
"  Migrant  Industrials  " : 

Tj-pe,    289-291,    300,    303, 
307-308,  369 
Scottsville : 

Colony,  116-117 


479 


THE  IMMIGRiVNT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


Miller,  Daniel,  255 

Miller,  Herbert  A.,  127,  293 

Milwaukee: 

Publications: 
Immigrant,  297 
Minneapolis: 

Publications : 
Immigrant,  297 

Swedish  and  Norwegian  ward, 
86 
Minnesota: 

Finnish  Reds,  2-41 

Foreign  speech,  86 

Scandina\'ians,  287,  322 
Mississippi : 

Germans,  293 
Mokarzel,  Nahoum,  845-346 
Momard,  Don  S.,  132 
Mooney,  214 

Most,  Johann,  239,  275-277 
Mother  tongue: 

Basis  of  association,  5,  11-12 

Letters,  138-139 

Publications,  67.  359 

Use  by  Socialists,  98-99 
Mueller,  Paul.  267.  820 
Muhl,  Eduard.  262 

N 
National    Association    of    Gsm- 
merce  and  Labor,  386-389 
National  Croatian  Society,  272- 

274 
National  Republican  party: 
Use  of  immigrant  press,  877- 
384,  399-401 
Nationalism,  40-48,  271-274 
Bohemian,  289 
Irish,  289 


Japanese,  160-166 

Jewish,  106-169 
Naturalization: 

Corrupt  practices,  409-410 
Nebraska : 

Bohemians,  287 
Negro: 

Propaganda,  428 

Publications,  13 
Netherlands: 

Population,  299,  317 
New  York  City: 

Jews,  91-93,  105, 166, 174-179, 
277-280 

Immigrant    dramatic    compa- 
nies, 129-130 
Advertising,  133 

Language  groups,  7,  239 

Public  Library,  xx 

Publications: 

Immigrant,   7,    89-93,    150, 
297-298.  300-301,  305 

Restaurants.  277-280 

Syrians,  114 
New  York  Publications 

(See  English) 
Newspapers 

(See  Publications) 
Norlie,  Rev.  O.  M.,  257,  321-324 
North  Dakota: 

Norwegians,  822 
Norwegian 

(See  Scandinavian) 

Colony,  6 

Language,  22-23,  33,  35-36 

Nationalism,  40-41 

Press : 

Life  history.  320-324,  436 

Publications  (Danish),  7 


480 


INDEX 


Circulation,  92,  303 

Number,  285,  80£ 

Place,  297-298 

Population,  299 

Tj-pe.  135-136,  257 

Baneret,  257 

Daglyset,  256 

Friheden,  257 

lUustreret  Familie  Journal, 

375 
Kvinden  og  Hjemmet,  92 
Posten  og  Ved  Arneii,  256- 

257,  375 
Skandinaven,  252,  257,  258, 

372 
Ugebladet,  376 
Vikingen,  257 
Visergutten,  136 
Religion,  256 

O 

O'Connel,  Bishop,  58 
Ohio: 
German : 

Immigrants,  293 
Publications,  299 
Olson,  Ernst  W.,  258-259 
Organizations : 
Immigrant 

(See  separate  races) 


Pacifist,  413 
Paderewski,  I.,  194,  203 
Palman,  C.  W.,  370 
Palmer,  L.  B.,  364 
Park.  Robert  E.,  127,  293 
Pastor,  Joseph,  265 
Pelissier,  Jean,  45 


Pennsylvania: 

"Dutch,"80,  83,  255 
German : 

Immigrants,  293 
Publications,  253-256,  332 
National  Croatian  Society: 
Branches,  272-274 
Penrose,  Boies  R.,  400,  408 
Peretz,  109,  ISO 
Persian : 

Immigrants,  290 
Publications,  7,  303 
Number,  318 
Place,  297 
Philadelphia: 
Publications: 
Immigrant,  297 
German,  254 
Pittsburgh : 

Munition  plant  strike,  429 
Publications: 

Immigrant,  297,  305 
Poland: 

Language,  25 
Politics,  194 
Population,  34 
Press,  38 
Polish: 

Dramatic  companies,  129 
Immigrants,  289 
Language,  34,  37,  83-84 
Nationalism,  53,  193-194 
Organizations: 

Polish    National    Alliance, 
194 
Publications,  7,  436 

Advertisements,  122-123 
Circulation,     92,     271-272, 
S04 


481 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


Number,  303-305,  313-319, 

324-325 
Place.  297,  300 
Ameryka-Echo,  92,  122,  206, 

252.  272 
Dziennik  Ludou-y,   68,   203, 

217,  332 
Dziennik  Zwiazkowy,  206 
Glos  Polck.  206 
Ghs  Rohotniczy,  276 
Guiazda  Polarna,  92 
Lila,  332 
Naprzod,  332 
Narod  Polski,  92 
Postern  Lila,  332 
Rohotnik  Polski,  276,  332 
Telegram  Codzienny,  202, 433 
Wiadoviosci  Codzienne,  207 
Wici,  197,  203,  204 
Zgoda,  92,  211,  271-272,  372 
Types,  84-86 
Polish    National    Alliance,   194, 

271 
Popovich,  Dushan,  402-405 
Population: 

Decorah,  Iowa,  258 
Foreign  born: 
German.  413 
Irish.  413 

Relation  to  press,  7,  316-327 
Rural,  299 
United  Poland,  34 
Portuguese: 

Inmiigrants,  290 
Publications,  7,  303,  324,  436 
Advertisements,  123 
Number,  313,  315 
Place.  297,  300 
Alvorada,  123 


Post  Office  Department : 

Control  of  press,  196,  370,  433- 

443,  467 
Co-operation,  xix 
Press,  foreign-language 
(See  Publications) 
Backgrounds,  14-48 
Contents,  111-247 
Control,  359-468 
Dependence   on   immigration,. 

326-327 
History,  251-356 
Purpose,  89-110 
Significance,  xix 
Soil,  3-110 
Proletariat,  226-228 
Propaganda: 
Enemy,  412-447 
Press,  305-307 
Publications 

{See  Separate  Races) 
English : 

Circulation,  17 
Early,  70 
Foreign-language : 

Circulation,    295-296,    304, 

321,  323 
Constituency,    77-79,    287- 

327 
Control,  359-468 
Date  of  origin,  252,  276 
Editorial : 

Policy,  68-69,   194,  328- 

330,  384 
Vicissitudes,  207-210 
Establishment,  96-103,  108- 

110 
Number,  7,  309-318 
Place,  297-301 


482 


INDEX 


Relationship    with    govern- 
ment, 444-447 
Support,  3G0-365 
Types: 

Commercial,       304  -  305, 

337-356 
Cosmopolitan,  150-213 

Reaction,  190-207 
Daily,   17,   252,  301-304, 

328-330 
Organ,  305-307,  230-231 
Propaganda,      305  -  307, 

331-337,  360-447 
Provincial,  135-149 
Radical,  214-247 
Number,  436 
Use  for  enemy  propaganda, 
412-413 


Quakers,  253 


Q 


R 


Race: 

Consciousness,  160-166 
Groups,  427-434 
Meaning,  5 
Radicalism: 

Control,  458-459 
Definition.  214 
German,  261-262 
In  Russia,  186-189.  229-231 
Industrial,  186-187.  274-277 
Publications.     214-247,     268, 
276,  436,  443 
Armenian,  276 
Bohemian,   219,   227,   230- 

231,  235,  238,  276 
Croatian,  216 


Esthonian.  232 

Finnish,  217.  219,  221,  232- 

233,  244-245,  276 
German,  238,  241,  276 
Hungarian,   218,   228,   234, 

276 
Italian,  215,  216.  224-226, 
228-229,     234-237,     245, 
247.  276 
Lithuanian.  218.  276 
Polish.  217.  229,  276 
Russian.  216.  217,  230,  234, 

243.  276 
Spanish,  236.  246 
Ukrainian,  227,  236 
Yiddish,  215.  220-226,  280- 
233,  235,  276 
Rappists,  253 

Rasmussen,  C.  Co.,  375-376 
Rauschenbusch,    Winifred,    xx, 

69,  274,  354 
Ravage.  Marcus  E.,  215 
Religion: 

In  press.  140-144.  252-253 
French.  260-261 
German,  261-262 
Jewish. 166-169 
Norwegian,    256-260,    320- 

821 
Swedish,  257-260 
Restaurants: 

Foreign-language,  119 
In  New  York  City,  189,  278 
Rhys,  John,  24,  30 
Ridder,  Herman,  353 
Rihbany,  Abraham,  56 
Roche,  Josephine,  444,  450,  463 
Rogers,  E.  T.,  52 
Romansh,  3 


483 


THE  IMMIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


Rombro,  J.,  106 
Rumanian: 

Immigrants,  289 
Language,  37,  71-72 
Publications,  7,  340-341.  436 
Advertisements,  115-116 
Number,  303,  318 
Place,  297,  300 
America,  252 
Desfcaptate  Romane,  71, 115- 

116,  296,  340-341,  433 
Romamd,  71 
Rumely,    Edward   A.,   390-391, 

394,  396 
Rural : 

Population : 

Foreign-born,  299 
Publications,  296-301,  322 
Russian: 

Bolshe-vasm,  229-231 
Illiteracy,  8 
Immigrants,  289 
Language,  22,  25-28,  32,  67, 

68-70,  96-98 
Organizations: 

Union  of  Russian  Workers, 
77 
Publications,  7-8,  136 

Number,  303,  313,  315,  318 

Place.  297,  300 

Bread  and  Freedom,  234 

Haydamaka,  230 

Isvestia,  69 

Narodnaya  Gazeta,  276 

Novy  Mir,  68-69,  77,  216, 

241,  278 
Povenetakaya  Sveada,  243 
Pravda,  69 


Russkoye  Slovo,  xx.  7-9,  252 
Ru^aky  Golos,  217 
Radicalism,  241-243 
Russo-Ca  rpatliians : 
Immigrants,  4 
Language,  34 
Ruthenian: 

Nationalism,  43 


Sacramento,  California: 

Japanese  press,  286 
St.  Louis,  Missouri: 
Publications : 

Immigrant,  266,  297 
St.  Paul,  Minnesota: 

Swedish  and  Norwegian  ward, 
86 
San  Francisco: 

Dramatic  companies,  129 
Japanese  press,  150-151,  280- 

286 
Publications: 
Immigrant,  297 
Sauer.  Christopher,  253 
Scandinavian,  83 

Immigrants,  86-87,  307 
In  Minnesota,  287 
Organizations : 

Foimdation,  416 
Population,  34 
Press,  256-260 
Publications,  135,  392 

Number,  304,  313-315,  317- 
320 
Schuenkenfelders,  253 
Schurz,  Carl,  12.  266,  274 
Scotland : 

Language,  31,  33 


484 


INDEX 


Scripps,  James  E.,  355 
Seattle: 

Japanese  press,  150-151 
Serbian : 
Immigrants,  289 
Nationalism,  193 
Publications,  7 

Number,  303,  305,  318 
Place,  297,  300 
Amerikanshi  Srbobran,  252 
Serb  Sentinfl.  403 
Srbobran.  305 
Svoboda.  305 
Seton-Watson,  55 
Settlement : 

Process,  292-295 
"Settler": 
Type.  287-289,  298,  S02-S03, 
307 
Shaikevitch.  107-108 
Sichinsky,  Miroslav,  332-336 
Slavic : 

Immigrants,  9,  327 
Slavish : 
Publication 
Krajan,  433 
Slovak : 

Immigrant,  289,  461-463 
Language,  34,  50 
Nationalism.  28-29,  31-32,  42, 

50,  55,  61,  193 
Organizations : 
Jednota,  55 
Narodnie  Slovensky  Spolok, 

55 
Zivena,  55 
Publications,  7,  10-11 
Number,  303,  313,  318 


Place,  297,  300 
Slovak  V  Amerike,  252 
Slovenian : 

Immigrants,  289 
Language,  34 
Nationalism,  193 
Publications,  7,  436 

Advertisements,  118,  132 
Number,  303.  313-315,  318 
Place,  297,  300 
GUu  Naroda.  252.  341 
GlasUo   K.   S.   K.   Jednota. 

118 
Prosveta,  132 
Slovenski  Narad,  341 
Smulski,  194 
Socialism : 

Movement,  214,  274-277 
Among  Jews,  96-103,  108- 
110 
Publications,  68,  79,  108-110, 
216-219,     227,     230-233, 
235.  238,  241,  267,  300- 
307,  360-361.  373 
German.  275-276 
Polish.  305.  332 
Scandinavian,  257 
Yiddish.  96-105 
Socialist  Labor  Party,  275 
South  Dakota: 

Norwegians,  322 
Spanish : 

Immigrants,  289 
Language,  33 
Press,  13 

Publications,  7.  135,  436 
Advertisements,    124,    133- 

134 
Circulation,  92,  SOS 


485 


THE  IMI^IIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


Number,  302,  313-315,  317- 

319,  324 
Place.  297-298 
Provincial  tj-pe,  145 
Ciiltura  Obrera.  246,  362 
Pictorial  Revicu\  92 
Prensa,  124.  252 
Regeneration,  236 
Speek,  Peter  A.,  117 
Statistics: 
Population: 

Rural.  299 
Publications: 

Advertising,  367-368 
Circulation.  304,  321,  323 
Number,  297-298,  300-303, 

310-327 
Sources,  295-297 
Steamship  agents,  337-342 
Steiner,  Lajos,  418-419 
Strand,  Algote,  257 
Straus,  Isaac,  427 
Sundby-Hanson,  H.,  256 
Swabian: 
Press,  7 
Swedish: 

Langiiage,  88-39,  46 
Population,  299 
Publications,  7,  301.  303,  320, 
436 
Circulation,  92.  303-304 
Place,  297-298 
Gamla  och  Nya  Uemlandet, 

258 
Minnesota-Posten,  258 
Missions-Vdnnen,  372 
Nordsijernan,  135 
Skandinaven,  258-259 


Svenaka   Amerikanaren,   92, 

138,  140.  142,  258 
Svenska  Kuriren,  259 
Svenskn  Standaret,  142 
Svenska     Tribunen-Nyheter, 
258 
Swiss: 

Press,  7 
Syrian : 

Immigrants,  290 
Nationalism,  193 
Press,  7,  56,  114.  193 


Talmud,  3,  105 
Tannenbamn,  Abe,  106 
Texas : 

Colony : 

Bohemians,  6 
Germans,  6,  287,  292-293 
Theaters: 

American,  189-190 

Immigrant.  129-131 
Thomas,  John  L.,  437-438,  440 
Thomas  and  Znaniecki: 

Polish  Peasant,  38,  84 
Trotzky,  Leon.  69,  241 
Turkish : 

Immigrants,  290 

Press,  7 

U 
Uhl,  Jakob,  266 
Uhro-Russians : 

Publications,  7 
Ukrainian : 

Dramatic  companies.  129 

Immigrants,  289,  332-336 

Language,  3-4,  18,  25-28,  34, 
42 


486 


INDEX 


Publications,  436 

Number,  303,  313,  315,  318 

Place,  297,  300 

Gazeta,  336 

Narod.  335 

Robitnyk,  227,  236,  334-335, 

341 
Svoboda.  196.  333-335 
Ukrainian  Daily,  252 
United  Mine  Workers'  Journal, 

377.  379 
United  States  Brewers'  Associa- 
tion, 384-390 
United  States  Census,  8,  17,  299, 

317 
United  States  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce : 
Americanization     Committee, 
450 
United  States  Immigration  Com- 
mission : 
Reports,  338-339 
United  States  Senate: 

Report      on      Brewing      and 
Liquor      Interests      and 
German    and    Bolshevik 
Propaganda,  377-434 
Urban : 

Publications,  297-301,  322 


Wallis,  Graham,  33 
War: 

Civil,  266,  269 
Class,  214-247 

World,  5,  19,  36,  59,  165-166, 
169-172,  312,  324,  308 
Cosmopolitan    press,     193- 

213 
Propaganda,  412-447 
Warne,  William,  429 
Washizu  Shakuma,  280 
Weinstein,  Gregory.  278 
Welsh : 

Immigrants,  287 
Language,  29-30,  40 
Publications,  7,  303 
Number,  318 
Place,  297-298 
Wends : 

Immigrants.  4 
Publications,  7 
Wiener,  Leo,  90.  96,  106,  107 
Wicrnik,  Peter,  xx,  97.  99 
Williams,  Daniel  Jenkins,  40 
Williams,  Talcott,  364 
Winchefsky,  Morris,  108 
Wisconsin: 

Finnish  Reds,  241 
German.  287,  293 
Publications,  299 


Vellay,  Charles,  19 
Viereck,  George  Sylvester,  423 
Villchur,  Mark,  xx,  9 
Von  Basse,  Georg,  256 

W 

Wales : 

Language,  23-24,  33 


Yiddish: 

Language.   33.   63-66.   80-83, 

94,  294 
Publications,  89-108, 150, 1C6- 
192,  232,  436 
Advertisements,    118,    125- 
126,  128-130 


487 


THE  IMINIIGRANT  PRESS  AND  ITS  CONTROL 


Circulation,  91,  304,  306 
Number,  301-302,  313,  315, 

318,  326 
Place,  297 

Readers,  63-04,  92-94 
Socialist,    08,    79,    96-105, 

108-109 
Das  Abendblatt,  100 
Day,  63,  167-169,  171-179, 

187-192,  220,  226 
Day-Warhcit,  91,  278,  427 
DcT  Kampf,  230 
Die  Arbeiter  Zeitung,  90,  9&- 

100,  109 
Forward,  xx,  64-66,  90,  91, 

100-104,    128,    169.    172, 

186,   215,   235,   276.   278, 

280,   331,   356,  405,   441, 

456 
Freie  Arbeiter  Stimme,  100, 

221-224,  245 


JemsJi  Courier,  118 
Jevyish  Daily  News,  91,  252 
Jeioish  Gazette,  90.  95 
Jewish     Morning     Journal, 

XX,  91,  125,  278,  355,  368, 

375 
Judische  Post,  89.  95 
Naye    Welt,    172-174,    179, 

231,  233 
Neue  Zeit,  99 
Volkszcitung,  99 
Zukunft,  99,  109 
Writers,  100,  102-103,  106 


Zangwill,  Israel,  61 
Zionism,  3-4,  63,  168-169,  346 
Znaniecki,  Florian,  86 
Zotti,  Frank,  87,  196.  341-342, 
382-384,  399-402 


THE   END 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


3  0112  000889318 


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